


Release

by Alistiaire



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Cheating, Death, Drama, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Sexual Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:01:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 28,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23204353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alistiaire/pseuds/Alistiaire
Summary: As Alastor and Charlie begin to grow closer, secrets are revealed and consequences ensue. Will they be able to handle the fallout to come, or will it leave them both in pieces?
Relationships: Alastor/Charlie Magne, Angel Dust/Randoms, Charlie Magne/Vaggie
Comments: 38
Kudos: 227





	1. Chapter 1: A new Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> All characters are property of VivziePop.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Alastor begins his time at the Hazbin Hotel, his past begins to show itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fairly knew to all of this, and have no idea what to expect. If you enjoy the story, great! If you don't, I hope you find one that suits your taste. I'd appreciate constructive feedback and hope to see where this takes me. Enjoy!

The moon was overhead, the night sky clear, the stars shining, but the wind cold and the ground wet. I ran through the woods, panting, hurt, and frightened. The more distance between me and it was the only way I’d survive. I came crashing into a broken branch, tumbling into a ditch. My legs battered, my arms slashed, blood oozing down my spine, muscles aching. I crawled further into the ditch, clutching my legs, trying to calm myself. It was approaching, I could here it’s footsteps closer, I could feel the blood lust, I could hear its heartbeat. The closer it got the more my mind shouted “Move! Now! Run!” my instincts betraying me, I moved my leg, no more than a twitch, and it heard me. It moved faster through the woods, barreling a top my head, and when it turned it was eye to eye with me. The fangs dripping with its mouth open. I felt paralyzed, and then it lunged at me.

“Agh!” I woke up in a cold sweat, halfway off my bed. Realizing it was a dream, a distant memory, I composed myself and went into the washroom. Pulling the cord to turn on the light, my heart still racing, I opened the water to wash my face. Before raising my head, I took a deep breath, and smiled in relief as I saw the red hair, the protruding antlers, the grey skin, I knew I was back. I cursed at myself for being so weak. “This is why I don’t sleep.” I went into my room to look at the clock, 3:30 a.m. I had slept for 4 hours. “Best get ready. There’s much work to be done.” As I slipped into the shower with the heat flowing down my body, I felt the old wounds ache, knowing no matter where I am the past will never leave me. There’s more than one way to pay for your sins.

Alastor walked enjoying the calm barren woods near his secluded home. The familiar scenery and scent of wood mixed with the earth was warming to his senses, it reminded him of a home now forever lost to him. As he reached the end of the trail, he walked calmly through town, in his trademark pin-striped coat, red shirt, red pants, and black shoes. Noticing how everyone around him avoided any proximity, averaging five feet in all ways.

“Good. The last thing I need is a wayward soul approaching me.”

It had been a week since Charlie and Alastor made their arrangement. Although it had not gone the way he wanted, progress was made. He decided on this course of action almost as a gut reaction, without thinking it through. He gave the excuse of entertainment to alleviate his boredom (despite there being truth behind this excuse) as the primary driving force to his “charity work.” The truth of the matter is, he had no idea what stirred him to help.

It was as if a magnet had dragged him to the doorstep of Charlie’s then “Happy Hotel.” He was entertained with the falsehood Charlie was proposing of redemption and determined that his lack of stimulus was behind this tugging feeling. Although he rationalized it in his head, deep down he knew he came to the wrong conclusion. Something deep stirred him to act, and it wasn’t going to stop there.

As he reached the doorstep of the newly named “Hazbin Hotel”, he knocked on the front door similar to his first arrival. Charlie opened the door, greeting her new cohort.

“Morning Alastor.”

“Morning Charlotte.” His smile widened. “How’s the hotel coming along so far?”

She looked back towards the disheveled lobby, leaky pipes, broken down electricity, and the only functioning additions being those Alastor had created a week prior.

“Well at least it’s not burning to the ground.” She hung her head. Being a manager, financer, and course planner was a lot more than Charlie was equipped to handle. She admits she’s running thin as is, and Alastor joining is beginning to lighten the workload. With Nifty cleaning the rooms, Husk replacing the plumbing and electricity, Vaggie improving security efforts so no more “shitlords” coming through unannounced, and Angel being…well Angel.

“I know the efforts are slow, but each day we’re improving.” She turned realizing she still hasn’t let Alastor in.

“Oh gosh I’m so sorry come in already I didn’t mean to make you stand outside this long.”

Smiling slyly Alastor replied, “It’s fine dear, you’re preoccupied, and your work is tremendous. You’re allowed to space out now and again.”

She rubbed her shoulder “Thanks Alastor. By the way can you not call me “Charlotte” it’s…unnerving. Charlie will do.”

She looked at him in the eye, almost as if willing him to accept. “As you wish, but in return you must do something for me.”

She hesitated to answer his request, knowing how deals can create unwanted consequences she carefully worded her response, “I will take your request under consideration, if that makes you feel better.”

Tsk. She was trained well, but his request was not one he knew was unreasonable. He just wanted to make her stay on her toes, it soon became a hobby of his.

“In return, I ask that you call me Al. If we are to be partners, growing closer will help trust be established.” He tilted his head awaiting her response.

“I can’t believe I’m hearing that right. Alastor, wants me to use a nickname for him?” She nodded to his statement “I can agree with that. Okay Al, what’s on the agenda for today?”

As if on cue Husk came barreling through the roof with metal and drywall accompanying his descent.

Alastor quickly had his shadow grab, carry, and place Husk right next to them before he even finished falling,

“Shiiiiiiittttt!!!!” was all Husk said as he waited to feel the impact of the hard floor and crushing weight over his body.

As Husk opened his eyes, unwinding his arms that blocked his face, he was surprised he was seated right next to Charlie and Alastor, turning his head to see that not only was he not plastered, but the debris was slowly descending down one by one with a faint red aura guiding it’s path.

“What the fuck?” Husk looked around and saw Charlie wave at him and Alastor wink at the now bewildered cat sitting on the floor.

“I see your hard at work already my dear sport.” Alastor replied.

“Are you alright?” Charlie asked as she went to Husk helping him off the floor.

“Hard work my ass this place is a fucking deathtrap. Can’t work on shit without risking a fucking arm or two. Why can’t you just demolish the place and rebuild it from the ground up?”

Charlie sighed, knowing he was right. This place was cheap to buy because it was a dump. Mold, broken windows, destroyed facilities, the works.

“I wish I could I’m just…not able to afford it. I’m sorry.” Her head hung low.

“Aw… I didn’t mean to upset ya. I just gotta be more careful don’t worry I’ll fix this up just gotta get a drink in me first.” Before he walked to the bar, he looked at Alastor “Uh... thanks for the save.”

“Think nothing of it, simply protecting my employee, as one should.” His mischievous eyes letting Husk know “You owe me one, my dear friend.”

Husk shuddered at the realization “Agh! Now I really need a drink.” He walked and grumbled away barely audibly saying under his breath “Can’t fucking go anywhere without selling my soul to dis bastard. Always gotta work me to the bone. Stupid son of a – “As he walked into the bar searching for booze.

Turning his attention back to Charlie, Alastor tapped her shoulder “Dear, I know this may seem sudden, but can we discuss some suggestions in your office?”

“Yeah of course, here it’s just this way.” She led him away from the lobby.


	2. Discussion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie begins to realize how capable Alastor is as a business partner. But, will the benefits outweigh the cons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the writing isn't too convoluted. The POV does change quite a bit so if that's hard to understand do bear with me. I'm still trying to get the hang of exactly how I want to get my ideas across.

I opened the door to my office, papers everywhere, books, pamphlets, even the board on the wall was filled to the brim with ideas for the hotel. I turned to see Alastor examine each and every part of the room. My whole face blushed. “It’s not always like this! I swear!” I started waving my hands in front of his face trying to stop him from looking.

I saw his smile widen as if he was excited to see me embarrass myself.

“Oh darling, there’s no reason to be ashamed. I understand completely. Now, before we get to discuss anything, let me help clean this up.” He cocked his head to the side waiting my reply.

“Oh… wow uh yeah thanks Al that would help a lot.” I turned to begin picking up my files.

“Splendid! Oh, don’t worry dear you don’t need to lift a finger. Here, give me a minute.”

I turned as he snapped his fingers and the whole room came to life, files and papers flowing in unison opening drawers, cabinets, and even the board was starting to get categorized. I just stared in awe, my eyes wide like saucers.

“I didn’t even know you could do this!” I turned to see him chuckle. “I’m glad to be of service.” He bowed with his hand across his chest.

I blushed at the gesture _. Usually people would just be in awe at the way crap was just thrown around, but Alastor didn’t even blink. He just looked eager to help. Albeit with that unnerving grin at times and those eyes, they never let you see his real intentions. His feelings_.

Before I knew it, everything was clean, organized, and I felt two hands on my shoulders.

“Now now come Charlie take your seat right there-“as he guided me to my office chair behind the desk “And let us start our meeting.”

Charlie sat down, moving a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Sooo what suggestions did you wanna talk about Al?”

Alastor sat with his right ankle over his left knee, examining his hands and cuticles.

“I want you to let me pull this hotel out of the dirt and make it shine. Let me work my “magic” as I see fit.” He waved his fingers at the word making it seem splendid.

I sighed. “Look Al I appreciate all you’ve done, and the help you’re willing to give. But I can’t just let you run the hotel completely. It’s still my project, I need to have a say in how I want to handle this too.”

Alastor sighed seeing his mistake. He looked directly at Charlie. “I’m sorry I feel I’ve misconstrued my intent. I want to handle a portion of this hotel, the backend so to speak. Aspects like finances, publicity, networking, infrastructure and safety; within a reasonable capacity. Of course, unabated, but within your “preferences.” Is that fine?"

His eyes shown like rubies. His fingers interlocked with his head resting atop them.

I contemplated what he just said. Mulling it over, “Mmmm… that's a lot of responsibility to give just to you Alastor… "

She turned her gaze right into his bright red eyes, "If I accept there's gotta be communication. AND I want the final say so on big decisions.” No matter how desperately I need help I won’t let him bully me.

Alastor saw her feistiness and mused to himself: _Oh this is wonderful. I just love to see her assert herself. Quite honestly, she should do this more often, she shines so bright it’s hard to look away._

He chuckled at her response “We agree then? I get to handle the mentioned subjects but any decision that directly impacts the future of this hotel will be ultimately decided by you, albeit with my input. Sound fair?”

“Yes, I can live with that.” I swear sometimes Al’s smile is just like a child. Like you just gave him the key to a never-ending playground.

“Perfect my dear. Just wonderful. Now, immediately concerning a few of my newly appointed duties, I wish to fix this *ahem* work in progress firstly with construction. I can take care of the upfront costs to get a crew in and help around, but I will also focus my efforts on a few financial backers.”

My jaw dropped. _This man, he kept the surprises coming. I mean I’ve wanted to fix this place up since the start but without my family’s backing, I only have so much to bankroll. If I’m being honest, I don’t have anywhere near enough to do what he wants; on the scale he wants._

“Al, look I want those things just as bad as you, but that much money is insane. The time it would take to organize them, get the materials, plan the remodeling and you want to add finding people to help finance this place? Even my own PARENTS gave me a limit that’s, quite frankly, running on empty.”

 _His Cheshire grin just doesn’t let up. In fact, I think I even saw it grow a few inches_.

“My little Charlie, I just said I’d handle it all. As a matter of fact, the crew can come in as soon as next week, you can focus on the layout you wish, and I already have a few backers in mind. With a little motivation, I can even handle it all this month. That would cover the immediate concerns wouldn’t you agree?”

 _As if with a wave of his hand he took my biggest fears and *poof* made them disappear_. _I think I’ve seriously underestimated who he is. I mean, he’s an overlord sure, a pretty new one compared to those he replaced. But just how much pull does this guy have?_

I reluctantly gave up. “Fine, as long as you promise you’re not going to jeopardize the beginnings of this hotel, I will accept your help. BUT! I want to have a role in this too. I wanna meet your backers, I want the construction crew to be acceptable, AND the finance reports need to be finalized by me, so I know how our money is being spent… I mean if that’s okay with you….”

_I rubbed my shoulder and averted his gaze, I just demanded something of THE Radio Demon. The guy who, just a week ago, was literally a horror story for people in hell. And here I am little miss optimist wanting to boss him around. I can’t even make this up. I cannot believe I’m doing this._

Alastor was excited. For the first time in the longest time, excitement filled his heart. _My oh my, this woman is milking me for all I have. She definitely takes her negotiating skills from her father._ He thought to himself.

“Dearie me I do believe I just got the short end of the stick on this one, Charlie. But, be warned, what you’ve just asked will put you in spots where you will be uncomfortable, angry, even horrified. This realm is one filled with sinners, murders, rapists, and worse. The money you will receive isn’t clean, the support isn’t noble, and there’s always a caveat somewhere down the line.”

Charlie listened intently, realizing that the demands she made puts her directly where Alastor says, in the front lines. But she was determined. This hotel will not just be another passion project gone to waste. She will help her people, even if it takes years, even if she scrapes the bottom of the barrel, she’ll make this work.

As Alastor saw the wheels turning In Charlie’s mind he decided to add the cherry on top. The final seal for approval.

“But, also keep in mind I will protect my investment from any harm. I will use all my resources to make sure you succeed. That is, as long as you keep me entertained.” With a wink at the end, Charlie knew he drove a hard bargain. He was a dealmaker for a reason.

“I can get behind this. I know what this means for me, and as long as you stand by what you say, I see no reason to say no.” With the agreement in place, Charlie sighed and leaned back into her chair. As much as the last days have pushed her to the edge, she was cutting her teeth with this meeting.

“I knew you would see things my way my dear. And, final order of business. Although, this one will be…controversial.”

She immediately piped right back up. She couldn’t let her guard down one second with this guy. “Go on.” With her eyebrow raised.

“Seeing as how I’m going to be intimately involved with our little hotel, I’d like to occupy a room. As well as an office, the latter being a necessity. Although I do enjoy the stroll through the city to reach our establishment, I would prefer to live on the premises. It would save me some time, and I’d be available at a moment’s notice if any... emergency were to happen.”

The look on his face was as if he had just taken Charlie’s queen in a game of chess. The little move caught her off-guard, imbalanced, and she struggled to find the words to respond.


	3. Weighing the Odds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie and Vaggie decide if letting their resident overlord take a room is the best thing for the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support! If you guys have any feedback I'd be happy to hear it, enjoy!

“He wants to do what now?!” Vaggie was staring daggers right at Charlie.

“Come on Vaggie it’s not that ridiculous.” Charlie waved her hands looking for the right words.

“I mean he has a point, look what happened with…what’s his face?” Charlie was looking for the right name snapping her fingers. “Sir what’s his face…Pentious! Yeah remember him?”

Vaggie pinched her nose and furrowed her eyebrows. “But that was a turf war Charlie! It was out of our control!”

“Exactly Vaggie! Who knows what could’ve happened if Alastor wasn’t there? He literally saved everyone in about twenty seconds. Not to mention the fact that one of OUR PATIENTS decided to take part in the turf war that brought Pentious here!”

As Charlie was pacing the room back and forth Vaggie reached out to her partner to stop her.

Looking each other in the face with Vaggie holding Charlie’s shoulders “Ugh. I get it. I really do. I know there was literally nothing I, you, or anyone else could’ve done to prevent that mediocre excuse of a demon blasting away the hotel.”

Charlie slowly took off Vaggie’s hands and turned around, with her hands now in the air “And! Not to mention he’s on the lower side of trouble! Turf wars are only ramping up after the extermination. Unless we have some secret armory in the basement somewhere, we have no defense, no offense, nothing. We are at the mercy of any demon who decides to make our establishment a target.”

Vaggie shook her head. “Fuck, I hate that any demon in Hell these days fits that description.”

It was Charlie’s turn to rest her hands on Vaggie’s shoulders, lifting her chin up to lock eyes.

“I know this sounds bad; I get it. We have no idea what he really wants, what he can do, in fact we have basically nothing to go from except the hearsay of other demons, what Nifty and Husk can tell us, and that isn’t much. “

Charlie chose her words very carefully, already knowing she needs to convince Vaggie, because there was no other option. They needed Alastor, he was their lifeline.

“Look we can’t have him pulling out before we get started. If we give him this much for now, he’ll be satisfied. Then we can see if once we’re all set up, we can do something about it if he really becomes a problem.”

Vaggie reluctantly sighed, knowing Charlie was right. As much as she hated giving in, what was worse was seeing the pain Charlie would feel if this hotel never opened its doors. That would crush her. And Vaggie wasn’t going to put her through that, so she bit her lip and said, “Fine. You win. BUT this man gets the farthest rooms we have from the patients, from you, and everyone in general.”

Charlie smiled, kissing Vaggie’s forehead. “Thank you. We can work with that. The issue is… there’s really only two rooms in this whole hotel that are…’livable’. And they are…”

Vaggie’s eyes widened. “No manches, you’re joking right? THAT’s all we have?”

Charlie nodded slowly. “Uhhu. It’s the best we can do for now.”

The rooms that were available were literally across from each other. Their bedrooms would literally be across the hall, and their offices the same. It was all they had, and Alastor had won another point of contention, with ease at that. He didn’t even have to be in the room to argue his point, and his influence was still felt in the couple’s discussion.

(An hour before their talk, back in the meeting room between Charlie and Alastor)

Charlie being flustered tickled Alastor. Ooh She wasn’t expecting this. It was a simple enough request, but the look in her eyes as she went through the possible excuses, finding none was only amplified by the silence in the room.

_This child is proving to be worth the investment. At this point I’d be tired of talking to anyone else. But with her, she’s like a breath of fresh air in this dark and disgusting place. I can’t stop enjoying her reactions, even the mundane ones as a slight smile, her gratitude, even her blank faces._

Just as he was thinking about what she’d say next the doors burst wide open catching both demons off guard as Angel was being chased by Husk, Vaggie following close by.

“I’m gonna fucking rip your arms off your body you sack of shit!” Husk angrily grasping the air that was once occupied by Angel.

Angel whipped around Charlie’s chair, hiding behind it. “It was harmless come on baby you know you liked it!” Angel peaked over to give Husk a wink.

Alastor quickly held Husk back, to stop any possible damage to the room he worked so hard to clean.  
“Now now sport come, calm down and tell us what happened. No need for the hostilities.”

Husk looked up at Alastor, ripping his arms out of the radio demon’s hands. “This sex-crazed freak decided he’d be inclined to cop a feel while I was laying down a pipe!” As he pointed to Angel with his claws, revealing the grime and soot that covered his paws.

“You can lay your pipe with me anytime daddy.” Angel blew a kiss to Husk, that caused Alastor to restrain him once again.

Alastor sighed, as Vaggie came barreling down the hallway.

“Pinches desgraciados!” She found almost all the hotel staff in Charlie’s office, surprised Alastor was present. Eyeing him cautiously.

“I can’t go one fucking minute without both of you trying to kill each other. Can’t you just, for once, stop!” Vaggie staring daggers at both Husk and Angel.

Husk looking done with the situation said, “Tell that fucker if he touches me again, I’ll bury his body in one of these walls. He needs to stay away if he knows what’s good for him.” Alastor reluctantly let Husk go. Walking back towards the lobby, he grumbly said “I need a drink.”

Alastor, looking at the direction Husk just left, calmly stated, “I’ll go make sure Husk get’s situated, I’ll trust that I can leave the…’reforming’ of our only patient to the..” looking back over his shoulder meeting Vaggie and Charlie with a coy smile “Professionals.” He then turned to walk away.

Mid-stride he summoned his staff calmly twirling it with one hand, with his parting words directed at Charlie, “Do come fetch me when you’ve come to a decision darling. I’ll be eagerly awaiting your decision.” With the back of his right hand waving slowly as a goodbye gesture to the group.

As he rounded the corner, moving out of sight Charlie slowly got up, looked at Angel Dust and with a heavy sigh, “Angel, you can’t harass the hotel staff. We’ve gone over this you’re here to be reformed.”

Vaggie chimed in, “Not to go around fucking anybody that has a pulse.”

Angel Dust crossed four of his arms, rolling his eyes, “Oh come on toots just cuz I can flaunt what momma gave me-“ proceeding to squeeze his chest to accentuate his fur “don’t mean you gotta be up my ass about it.”

Vaggie immediately started to boil, her face turning a bright red. Charlie turned to put a hand on her, trying to calm her down. “Angel, if you can’t follow our rules then you don’t get to eat tonight.”

Immediately his jaw dropped, letting out a loud moan, “Awwww! That ain’t fair! It was just a joke! You gonna let me starve ova here?!” throwing his hands up in the air.

Vaggie pinching the bridge of her nose, “Angel, go apologize to Husk, and find Nifty and help her clean up the hotel. Try to at least be productive and we can rescind your punishment. Till then, our decision stands. Capiche?”

Looking at both of the girls using four of his index fingers to wave as a “No” he said, “My precious little hands don’t do manual labor doll face. These babies can do things y’all can’t even imagine.” Winking at both of them. “I got standards to hold up, ya know?”

Charlie rose her right eyebrow with a smile on her face, “But throwing grenades and shooting a tommy gun on live television for a turf war is less work than cleaning some hotel rooms?”

Vaggie surprised at the comeback Charlie just dished out. _Daamn babe that hellfire you showed on tv wasn’t just for show._ She quietly thought to herself.

Knowing he wasn’t going to win this argument, Angel gave a large sigh and started walking out the door mumbling something along the lines of “Fine you win this time don’t know what’s the big deal tho I just wanted to have some fun round this hellhole…”

As Angel Dust disappeared behind the same corner Alastor did both Vaggie and Charlie’s eyes were filled with pride in tht they were able to recover some part of this day.

“Sooo… what was Alastor doing in your office? And why is it suddenly so clean?” Vaggie asked as she realized no papers were out of order and she could actually see the color of the floor. Turned out to be a muted red. _Huh._ She thought to herself.

Blushing, Charlie said “Hah! About that, um… you might wanna sit down.”

_This can’t be good._ Vaggie reluctantly sat down and heard the events that happened just recently.

(Meanwhile at the bar.)

Alastor found Husk searching through the bottom of the bar for a suitable drink.

“Look to the left, behind the second bottle of Vodka, you’ll find some whiskey. Let’s try that for now, shall we?” Alastor proceeded to take a seat at the bar, placing his staff right next to him, laying his head atop the palm of his head.

“Fine. One cube or two?” Husk pulled the bottle out of the bar and turned around to grab two glasses.

“One is fine my good sir.” Alastor closed his smile to hide his teeth, thinking on the meeting he just had.

_I must say Charlie, you are more than I bargained for. I can only wait till the real fun begins._

Husk, turning back to face Alastor, whiskey in hand, _Fuck, I know that look. Nothing good comes from that._ As he placed the glass down in front of Alastor, the radio demon swirled the glass with his right hand, before carefully sipping while staring at the air.

“Ahem.” Husk got Alastor’s attention breaking his train of thought. Alastor’s large red ears of his twitching in the direction of Husk.

“Mm?” Alastor replied.

“What’re you plannin’ on doin’ to the princess Alastor.” Husk swung his head back emptying the glass in one swig.

Turning his head slightly to the side, “Whatever do you mean my friend?” Intrigued to hear Husk’s thoughts.

Staring straight in his eyes Husk was serious. “You don’t go around makin’ deals with just anyone. This girl is decent, kind. Nothing like us. All I’m sayin’ is, don’t corrupt her, she don’t deserve it.”

Alastor gave out a hearty laugh. “Oh! My dear little Husk, you think so little of me. And here I was thinking you didn’t like getting attached. I see you’re starting to grow a conscience on me.” His trademark smirk showing hidden malice.

“What I decide to do or not to do is solely my decision. My motives are mine alone, you should know better than to intervene my feathered friend.” As if the matter was over, he finished his drink prepared to walk off.

Husk, persistent on this issue and loudly placed his hands on the bar. “I know our arrangement. I knew what I was gettin into with you. She doesn’t. Don’t play with me, Alastor. She’s different. I see the way you look at her, like you’re trying to decide how to best eat her. Why can’t you just leave the little one alone.”

Alastor surprised at the fervor that Husk is displaying, felt he owed his companion some information. After all, in all the years they knew each other Husk never showed this much care for another being other than himself.

With a heavy breath, “Because she’s different is why I’m interested in her. Aside from that, I do not owe you any more of a reason. If you keep pestering me, you already know the consequences.” He replied curtly.

“Tsk. Whatever. At least I tried.” Husk turned away to get another drink from the bottle.

With that Alastor gave a small laugh and said “Oh by the way, let Charlie know I’ll be returning home to finish up some plans we discussed earlier. If she needs me-“ he pulled out a small piece of parchment with a 7 digit number “tell her to call me. I’ll be available at all hours.” Placing the number on the bar, with a flick of his wrist he opened a portal right to the woods outside his home and stepped through.

“Asshole.” Was all he heard as the portal closed behind him.


	4. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Alastor and Charlie end their days, Alastor's night becomes increasingly odd.

The rest of the day for both parties was routine. Charlie finished up her work and after spending some alone time with Vaggie, which in her mind was one of the best parts of the day, she went to her room, washed up, and readied herself for bed.

She'd sometimes spend some time on her phone, seeing how hell was that day. Other times she'd read a story or two that came from Earth.

_Without them knowing the truth, what happens after they die… the stories they come up with… how they express themselves it's so…. magical._

Charlie typically liked fantasy novels, fiction, and she was a sucker for a good love story. Anything with a happy ending, something that filled her heart, that was how she measured a good story.

_It doesn't matter if the characters go through the worst of the worst through the story, as long as they come out the other side happy._

Throughout her life she must've finished hundreds of thousands of books like this.

_Father always did say reading was good for me. Although…_

Lucifer's library, the royal library, was not what one would call… child friendly. The shelves were stacked with numerous titles, but they all served a purpose.

They were typically used for reference, always aimed at helping Lucifer meet his goals rather than provide entertainment.

That isn't to say entertainment wasn't to be found among his books. Of course Charlie's definition of entertainment and the king's was always a bit… different.

_He did love reading though._

But, in Charlie's infancy Lucifer made sure he provided anything for his little girl. Even if he did find the books she loved so much a waste of good paper and ink.

Charlie laughed at that. _He's the head of the family, the king of hell, but he always did spoil me._

But tonight Charlie made no effort to read or look at her phone.

_I'm beat._ She tucked herself into bed, and soon drifted off into sleep.

Across the city, inside a quaint cabin was Alastor.

The end of his day was routine as well, though if you were to describe it you'd say it was more… methodical, clinical even.

As soon as he arrived home, Alastor placed his staff near his entrance, removed his coat, and shoes, and slipped into a pair of loafers.

His house wasn't anything fancy, but it suited his needs. He had a good size bookshelf, a piano, couch, home phone, and a good sized kitchen.

A small dinner table with two seats was in his dining room.

The walls were adorned with some deer figureheads, a clock, and not much else.

He had a record player in his living room, and a good selection of vinyl's he'd usually play.

But, the last piece, the one piece that meant more than the whole cabin itself was the picture that adorned his nightstand. It was the only picture in the whole house.

It was faded, badly. But you could still make out a small boy, thin but with a wide smile. Holding him affectionately was a tall woman whose face had faded out.

Alastor mused at his shelf, picking a book at random, and sat down on his couch.

_Home sweet home._ Here he needn't worry about any intrusions. He could be alone, with his thoughts, and be at peace.

He chuckled at that word: _peace._

Here he was, sitting in a cabin in the woods on the outskirts of one of hell's greatest cities and used the word "peace" to describe his home.

_Who'd have thought?_ He chuckled quietly to himself. Hell, a realm described as one of eternal torment for those who have sinned beyond redemption and he has found his own patch of peace.

As he began reading a couple passages his mind drifted off from the words on the page to a more interesting topic: Charlie and the hotel.

Her little passion project was scoffed at by all of hell, and mind you Alastor was no exception.

_So much passion for such a deluded dream._ He felt a sense of pity creep up on him for the princess, she was a resident of hell, it's next ruler, and yet her actions only alienated her people form her.

_No one here can be redeemed child, and none wish for it._

That being said, he wasn't about to let such a tantalizing piece of entertainment slip by.

_Your little passion project has promise… though not in the way you think my little demon._

For Alastor, true entertainment was hard to come by. Everyone here was banished from paradise for one reason or another. At first he thought passing the time by playing with Hell's residents would prove fun.

And it was, for a while. _Such poor little creatures humans are, gullible in death as they were in life._

He had created deals with multitudes of demons, large and small, and he enjoyed seeing their faces as the wishes they had pleaded for so eagerly soon crumbled to ashes.

A little smile covered his face as he remembered the thousands upon thousands of deals he made and how he felt after each one.

_They were so caught up in their hubris that when the rug was pulled from under them…._ Just then a shiver went down his spine.

_It was so delicious!_ A dark chuckle escaped from him.

And these deals would placate him for a time, but soon that grew boring. So he tried to find new ways to entertain himself.

He began his search by asking others what they wanted in the afterlife. He surveyed hundreds of souls to see if maybe one of their endeavors intrigued him enough.

_The list was exhausting but they were all similar… Money, Power, Recognition, Revenge, Desires of the Flesh, on and on they went…_

And so he tried out a few of these. He easily managed to make a fortune that rivaled any noble, any overlord, and all he felt from it was

_…Empty. Void of any excitement._

So then he focused on recognition. He became quite notorious for his demeanor, his attitude, the deals, and soon he began a reputation of destruction in his wake. Of course this was always the destruction of those who believed in their hubris.

Alastor enjoyed the destruction of those who believed themselves superior. With the right influences, even a titan could fall. But what he enjoyed most was when they were taken down by the machinations of their own doing.

_Deals were abundant, and having those around you recognize you're a force to be reckoned with has its… perks._

His smirk grew just a bit wider when he thought about the countless faces that he passed in shock, awe, and the best… _Fear._

The final game to be played for the last few decades was to gain power. But, this came involuntarily. Alastor understood that these past times were fleeting and he found the pursuit for power…. lackluster.

_I never found power to be enticing. It was simply always there, why would I need more?_

All the stories, the horrible things Alastor has done in hell arose from one incident that still stains his mind.

_Power… such a foolish endeavor._

But, with Charlie, with her passion project, the possibilities were endless. As he closed the book he felt excitement creep in his heart.

_The things that I can do… the flowers that could bloom…_

Imagining any number of situations with Charlie made him giddy.

_Like a little boy with his new toy…_ As he placed the book back in its shelf he let his imagination run rampant in his mind.

_How would I best enjoy her? Would I let her reach success only to take it from her? Would I leave her alone and see her struggling day to day? Maybe destroying her connections, her relationships would be better? Oh Charlie how best to savor you?_

He decided to place his thoughts on hold in order to finish off his day. _I have all the time in the world to think of this, but for tonight it's best I rest._

When he finally laid his head on his pillow, sleep immediately came to him.

He found himself being awoken in the middle of the night by his phone, his first thought after coming to was

_Who could it be at this hour?_

He then realized the conversation he had with Charlie earlier and how he left his number with Husk.

_She really did take me up on my availability ay?_ He chuckled as he rolled out of bed and answered.

"Hello?" All he heard on the other end was static. _Odd._

"Is anyone there? Hello?" More static. _This is proving to be annoying._

Just as he was about to hang up he heard a scared voice, "Ally? Is that you?"

His body immediately froze. His mind began to spin. _Who…_

The voice continued, "Baby are you there? Please say something." _What…_

His hands began to strengthen his grip on the phone. His nails grew and began to dig into his hands.

"Ally please it's me!" _No…._

His whole body began to shake. His antlers grew, his eyes began to glow and widen, his smile opened larger and larger.

Just then the phone clicked and he slowly placed the phone and it's receiver down.

The whole room was overflowing with his rage, unfettered and unencumbered. His demonic form took over and he began to laugh. A deep, dark, hysterical laugh.

He jumped straight up out of bed in a cold sweat. His breathing was uneven and as he looked around the room he realized he was asleep just moments ago. He got out of bed and went to his washroom.

As he looked at himself in the mirror he saw his antlers weren't enlarged, his eyes weren't dials, and while struggling to breath he gripped the basin tightly and looked down at the sink.

_Impossible. I heard her, was it her? Of course it was I know that voice anywhere._

He shook his head violently, _No! I thought it was her! It couldn't have been! It was just a dream, nothing more!_

He turned on the water and splashed his face with some. As he began to do this for a couple of minutes he soon began to calm down little by little. The nightmare he faced was new, and it was potent.

Just as he turned off the water he heard the phone ring.

_No…._ He slowly turned his head.

As he walked out the restroom, each step towards the phone was heavier than the last. It felt like cinderblocks replaced his feet.

_Move!_ He forced himself to reach the phone and soon he stood right in front of it.

His heart beat was erratic, he felt a cold chill run down his spine, and as he reached out for the phone he found his hands shaking.

_Grasp it! Pick it up!_

He lifted the receiver to his ear and he waited for the caller to say something.

"Uh… hello?" Was all he heard the caller say.

_It's not her._

"Alastor? Are you there?" _Charlie._

Charlie heard heavy static on the other end, coming in waves. _Is that him breathing?_

"Al are you there? It's me Charlie."

Alastor managed to speak, "Charlie?"

Charlie gave a sigh, "So you are there. Hey… sorry for the late call it's just…. I couldn't sleep."

_Oh Charlie if only you knew…_

Charlie began to twirl the phone cord in her hand. "I know this is weird it's just I _…_ " 

"I… wanted to talk to you…"

_Oh my dear…._ "About?" Alastor began to control his breath and regain his senses.

"I was thinking about… about what we talked about earlier and…"

"And?" responded Alastor.

"…. I can give you a room and office but…" _I can't say it…_

"My dear what is it?" At this point Alastor had fully regained control and was curious.

"Well… your rooms are gonna be right next to… mine." She blushed as she said the words.

_What am I some schoolgirl?!_

"Ah…. I see." Alastor could hear her embarrassment. _Is she…?_

"Is… is that okay with you?" It was Charlie's turn to breath heavy. _Why am I like this?! Is he gonna say no? Oh please don't say no!_

"Dear… are you afraid?" Charlie began nodding. _Wait he can't see me! What the hell am I nodding for?!_

"I'm just… I don't know if…"

"Darling… I'd love to be your neighbor." His voice was clear and Charlie blushed. _Love?!!_

"Oh! G-g-great!" She couldn't control her tone. She quickly covered her mouth.

_Why did I sound so happy?!_

Alastor gave a small chuckle. "My dear did you stay awake just because of this?"

"N-n-no…."

_Tsk tsk lying already?_ "Charlie… you know lying doesn't suit you."

She pouted. "Okay fine! I was scared you were gonna say no okay!" _What did I just tell him?!_

Alastor gave out a hearty laugh. "Haha! Oh my sweet little child… I'd never say no to you."

Charlie's heart began to race. "O-oh…"

_What's this?_ Alastor raised an eyebrow. "Charlie are you fine living with me?"

The question caught her by surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Dear I'm asking if you're afraid of me under the same roof as you."

There was a pause. "No."

"And what about your partner? I'm sure she has her doubts as to my… presence."

"Vaggie and I agreed to this already. Besides, it's my decision."

_Oohh taking charge now are we?_

"Well well do forgive my rudeness your majesty."

Charlie realized how she came off.

_Oh fuck._ "No wait I didn't mean it like that!"

Alastor gave a small chuckle. "It's quite alright dear, now was this all that was on your mind?"

Charlie smiled. _At least he's not mad…_ "Yeah, sorry if I woke you up Al."

Alastor shook his head slowly. "Pay no mind dear, I was awake already. Now come you should lay your head to rest, we can take this up at a later date."

Charlie gave out a small laugh. "Okay okay, goodnight Al."

"Sweet dreams Charlie." He placed the phone back on it's receiver.

_Charlie you keep surprising me._

Charlie then placed the phone near her heart clutching it tightly.

_Why am I so happy?_

She shook her head and put the phone down.

_I should get back to bed._

Alastor on the other hand sat back down on his couch and ran his hands through his hair.

_I need this to end already. I can't afford to have an episode near her._

The voice in his dream was from another life. One long lost to him.

Hell was nothing compared to his mind, to his memories, and he was done being its prisoner.


	5. Heartfelt Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Alastor bids farewell to his home, the emotions that rise up in him bloom in a different medium.

Later on that morning Alastor had assembled his belongings into two suitcases. Packing was very simple for the demon, he hadn't much in the first place.

_Efficiency was always a strong point of mine._ As he made his final round in his home he checked to see if there was anything he forgot.

Eyeing the barren cabin he felt a tinge of sadness. This secluded little spot served as a small haven for the man, and although he wasn’t one to get sentimental, especially over possessions, he couldn't help but give out a small sigh.

_You've served me well._ He traced his hands across the furniture, the walls, and his last stop was the piano.

Before resting his hands on the keys he recounted the various times he sat in that same spot, simply playing to his heart's content.

Music was a staple in his life and subsequent afterlife, one of the few constants that he truly appreciated.

He slowly placed his fingers on the lid and closed the piano. He got up, walked to the front of the cabin, picked up his luggage and in a silent whisper as the door closed behind him he muttered: "Au revoir."

As he stare at the barren woods he breathed in a sweet aroma, one filled with scents of leaves, earth, and wildlife.

Though it was no comparison, it reminded him of his time on Earth. It was all muddled now, but the feelings that the blurred images in his mind evoked was one of peace, simplicity, the small happiness that life had afforded him.

As he stepped off his porch he placed one suitcase down and snapped his fingers. Behind him the cabin shuddered and was covered in a thin red miasma. You could barely see the layer until it suddenly turned translucent, completely hiding the cabin.

With another snap a portal opened in front of Alastor, he picked up his luggage and walked right through.

He stepped into the front of the newly named Hazbin Hotel, and a large smile filled his face.

_Hello there._ Just as quickly as the portal opened it shut right behind him. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door. Immediately after he heard a couple loud bangs, some commotion, and a bit of yelling.

_I see we're starting the day off with some excitement already, how fun!_ He chuckled lightly as he heard some light footsteps approach the door.

Soon after the lock was jostled a bit and as the knob turned he looked down to see who opened and saw it was Niffty.

“Yay! Alastor’s here! I haven’t seen you in days! Where’ve you been? You’re pretty hard to miss ya know. Hey, you’re moving in now right?!" Her eye filled with unwavering happiness.

"My my, I see word gets around quite quickly in this hotel, doesn't it? I was only made aware last night."

Alastor leaned down to get closer to Niffty. "How is it you came by this little tidbit my dear?"

Without batting her eye Niffty responded, "I know because I cleaned up your room for you! Best work only for you boss man!"

Alastor gave a hearty chuckle as he tossed his head back. "Ah! Of course of course! My sweet little Niffty thank you, I'm sure the room you've prepared is fabulous."

As he stepped through the door he set the luggage down and offered a rare sign of affection as he pet Niffty slowly.

She straightened immediately at his touch but soon leaned into his hand and hummed as she swung her skirt back and forth.

Lifting his hand from her head Niffty came back to her senses and exuberantly said, "Ooo ooo Also! The office you got is super swanky too! I know how you like to make things your own so I left both rooms pretty bare but I made sure you got the best sheets, best pillow, the works!”

Alastor's smile grew a tad larger as he closed his eyes and said, "Niffty dear, you are simply showering me with your kindness. I must repay the favor, how about I take the liberty of making you dinner tonight?"

Niffty's smile grew as large as ever revealing her sharp teeth. "Yay! But can I eat with my friends?"

Alastor opened his eyes and replied "Of course, the more the merrier. Tell me, is there anything in particular you fancy?"

Niffty raised her hand to her chin and swayed as she thought intently. "Hmmm…. I know! I want some jambalaya! It was sooo good last time!"

Alastor was caught by surprise, but he let his smile grow as he thought: _This little tart, too cute for your own good now aren't we?_

As Alastor raised his hands he loudly proclaimed, "Jambalaya it is!"

Niffty patted her hands and jumped in place.

Alastor then curiously asked, "By the way, what was that loud commotion I heard earlier?"

Niffty started running across the room as she explained the situation to her boss.

“So! When I came down because I heard you knock I ran into Angel Dust! He was really mad since he’s been helping me around the hotel and he hasn’t had any drugs lately so he kept lazing around! He kept lagging behind everything we had to do until he tripped over me! Talk about mean! So I told him to go clean a room on the upper floor and I’d take care of the cleanup down here and I picked up his mess and then came rushing down here for you!”

Alastor paused for a minute taking in the information. _This Angel Dust does seem to enjoy getting into problems. Maybe a private chat is in order, see if we aren't able to come to an… amicable agreement._

He then responded, "Ah… I see. That explains it, you're always so helpful dear. Tell me would you mind doing me a favor?"

Niffty looked up with wide eyed curiosity, "Yes! Your favors are always sooo interesting! What did you want me to do?!"

Alastor bent one knee to get closer to Niffty. With a slight chuckle, "Nothing too exciting this time around I'm afraid. I'd like for you to let our little Charlie know I've arrived. Do try and be discrete though, we needn't have a little... spitfire such as yourself alarm her with your enthusiasm. She may still be sleeping after all."

Niffty nodded furiously, "I get it! I do! Ok then I'll be off now!"

She swiftly ran across the lobby heading up the stairs and soon disappeared from sight. As Alastor raised himself up off the floor he straightened his suit and as he was about to turn around Niffty popped out from the side of the wall and said:

"Oh! By the way! Before I forget! Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel Alastor! We hope you enjoy your stay!"

A hearty laugh burst from Alastor. _A real charmer this one is!_ "Thank you for the heartwarming welcoming Niffty." He put his hand across his chest and bowed towards her. 

With a smile she darted off back up the stairs.

_Now then, I suppose I should take a seat._ As Alastor turned to look around the lobby he walked over to the bar and looked over to see if anyone was behind it. 

_Tsk. No sign of dear old Husker, it's still quite early after all. How should one pass the time?_

As Alastor pondered his little conundrum he looked around the desolate lobby searching for an answer. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a tarp wrapped over a very familiar silhouette that he could barely make out. 

_Now now what's this I see?_

He got up slowly and meandered across to it. _Well now what have we here?_

As he snatched the tarp off the large item, his eyes widened along with his smile. 

_You poor thing, you've seen better days haven't you?_ He began to run his hands across the dark paint, portions of it chipping off. It was a grand piano, and he was taking his time analyzing each and every bit of it.

_Tell me, what ails you my friend?_

Alastor ran his fingers across the keys, opened the lid and saw the dusty cords, he checked the pedals and saw the sorry state it was in.

Overall the piano itself was barely holding together.

_Come, let me see if I can't make you feel better._

With a devilish smile and a snap of his fingers the piano began to creak and bend as if it was coming to life. Paint was being added, strings were being loosened and tightened, even the pedals and feet of the piano began to lose the rust and dents it had. 

Soon enough the whole instrument looked as if it had come off a showroom floor.

_There, isn't that better?_

Looking at his handy-work, Alastor approved of the new state he found his favorite instrument in. To use magic to fix it was one thing, but to do it properly was another. For a real refurbishing, one needed to understand the basics of the object they were fixing.

The wood that composed it, the correct tautness of the strings, the weight of each key, even how much travel a pedal was supposed to have. Alastor new all these details like the back of his hand, which made the repair simple. 

As he took a seat on it's bench he looked around curiously to see if anyone was around.

_Good, I'm alone._

As Alastor sat there in the quiet lobby he found himself hesitating. He had just left his own personal instrument at home and here he was just minutes later in front of another stunning example worthy of playing.

_Well I suppose there are some things you just can't avoid. No matter how hard you try._

Alastor positioned himself just right so that he could take full advantage of this moment.

As he was about to start playing a thought popped into his head: _I believe a real session is in order._

And with a flick of his wrist the shadows started to morph and bend as his own little band clad in black appeared. 

"Let's take it nice and smooth okay boys?" They all nodded as they prepared their own instruments.

And with an emphatic nod from Alastor, they all began playing. 

He first began with a quiet melody, one that wouldn't bring too much attention if anyone heard, but one that helped ease himself into the spirit of playing. As he became accustomed to the piano he began picking up the pace little by little, using a few more keys here and there.

Finally as he picked up his rhythm the rifts in his music were ones that even accomplished jazz players would be envious of. He played the intricate notes with ease.

And his playing was accompanied by his star band, each shadow instrument complimenting the next, creating a symphony.

What came next was a jubilant melody, one that would bring a smile to any man or demon. He needn't open his eyes as he let his fingers do all the thinking. He was simply along for the ride.

The tones shifted from one upbeat tone to the next and it caused his feet to tap slightly in between him pressing the pedals, and his head would bob along with the music.

His mind blank, being filled only with the sublime notes off his piano, the best way to describe it was as if a virtuoso was playing. 

Soon enough though he decided: _Enough with the band, let's give her the spotlight!_

Despite his intentions being to continue the rhythm of the previous songs, he soon found his subsequent melodies growing darker, as if playing in memory of someone dear.

His fingers were still flying across the piano, with more and more emotion filling the lobby, as if a small memorial was being held.

He had forgotten where he was and who could hear. And for the most part, he didn't care.

Stories above the lobby Charlie was awoken by a small, faint knock at her door. She slowly tossed and turned covering her ears with her pillow until she couldn't take it anymore.

_Who could it be this early?!_ She let out a large yawn and began to rub her eyes.

She then yelled "I'll be right there! Give me a sec!" As she furiously shimmied out of her sheets, she placed her feet in her favorite fluffy slippers with pink pajamas adorning her body.

As she opened the door another yawn escaped her mouth, while rubbing her left eye she looked straight ahead and saw an empty hallway.

"Mmm… who is it?"

She then felt a tugging at her pants and as she looked down still seeing stars in her eyes she realized it was Niffty. She had a big smile and was waving fervently. 

Niffty replied, "Mornin' sleepy head! Sorry to wake you but Alastor's downstairs waiting for you! I think he's here for his rooms but don't rush down! He said to take your time!"

Niffty was swaying her dress back and forth as she was talking.

Charlie blanked out for a couple seconds processing what she just heard. She then began to slowly piece together her midnight call to Alastor and realized _Oh shit…. That's today!_

Hiding her anxiousness Charlie bent down and smiled at Niffty, "Thanks Niffty, I'll head straight down after I get ready."

Niffty nodded and replied, "I'll be on my way now, lot's to clean 'round here, bye!" And she rushed off to the stairs to continue her small crusade of cleaning the decrepit hotel one room at a time.

Charlie closed the door and placed her back against it trying to catch her breath.

_It's just a new tenant! Come on Charlie get your head in the game!_

She adjusted her hair with her right hand and rushed to the shower.

As she turned on the water she tossed off her nightly pajamas and her fluffy slippers and jumped into the shower.

She let out a small yelp as she realized she should've waited for the water to heat up beforehand.

The image of her showering could be described as picturesque. A thin maiden with long golden hair with water covering her. It was as if she was carved from marble with her white skin being accentuated by her tight curves and flowing hair.

She could've easily been described as divine, as if an angel had made it's way into hell. She was oozing with primordial beauty, and these descriptions fit her aptly, after all she was the daughter of THE fallen angel, one described as cosmically beautiful.

And her mother was the first woman ever created, crafted by God himself. With the blood of these two biblical beings running through her veins, it was obvious she had beauty in her DNA.

As the shower warmed up her thoughts flowed back to the previous night, and she began to parse the conversation between her and Alastor.

_The static in his voice it was… gone._

She couldn't pinpoint why that made her uneasy.

_His real voice it seems so…_

She fought hard against the word that popped into her mind _._

_Enticing._

She wanted to be mistaken, but she couldn't hide the fact that whenever Alastor spoke to her, her heart started racing.

_What's going on with me?! Why does he always sound so sweet?_

She slapped her cheeks with both hands and decided to push the matter out of her head. But, deep down she knew her heart was aching, the way he spoke to her, the way he looked at her, hell even the way he said her name, she kept denying all her feelings. 

After the shower she rushed to get ready, getting her normal suit on and brushing her hair.

She ran downstairs to the lobby until she began to slow down as she heard music coming from downstairs.

_Is that… a piano?_

She slowed her descent and quietly hid behind the edge of the wall of the first floor. 

The melody had caught her off-guard, it was unlike anything she heard before. It called out to her soul. It was as if the composer was lamenting a forgotten life, or a lost loved one. She slowly peeked out from the edge to see who was playing and her eyes widened as she saw the red suit, the dark hair, the large ears of the man sitting down alone in the lobby.

The music was so pure, so unadulterated, so… _Human._ She was shocked, she never saw this side of Alastor before. In fact she didn't even know it existed.

The musical number they shared when they met before was so upbeat, whimsical even but this… it was worlds apart.

_Why is he playing this? What could've caused him to… feel this way? It's… heartbreaking._

She slowly stepped out of the corner and was careful to walk slowly towards Alastor. She didn't mean for it to happen, but she was entranced by his playing.

_Where did he learn this? Was it when he was… alive?_

When she was only a few feet away from Alastor, his ears finally picked up on her steps. He was shocked he hadn't heard her earlier. This didn't change his playing though, in fact he focused even harder on the notes, creating darker, broody tones.

With his final song, the only thought that entered his mind was a simple word: _Farewell._

That finale, the unsung truth that was carried across the music was one Alastor would never recognize, he couldn't. It was the most heartfelt goodbye he had given in centuries.

As his fingers slowed, with the song coming to an end, he let the final moments linger as if to hold onto a fleeting memory for the last few precious seconds… and then silence filled the room.

He slowly removed his hands from the keys. 

"Good morning dear." Alastor responded to Charlie's grasp by closing the lid on the keys with a loud thud. 

With the thud knocking Charlie out of her trance, she realized she was gripping Alastor's shoulder she let out a small yelp as she quickly pulled her hand back.

_He hates being touched!_

She learned this early on from her talks with Niffty and Husk.

While clutching her hand to her chest Charlie meekly responded, "S-s-sorry Al, g-g-good m-morning to you too."

Alastor slowly got up and turned to face his now visibly scared partner.

_Hm?_

With curious eyes Alastor said, "Is something the matter, Charlie? Why do you look so nervous?"

_Oh…. Shit. What should I say? What can I say?_

"I… I forgot you like your personal space Al… I didn't mean to…" She pointed at her hand.

"Its just… that song you played… it… I thought you needed…"

She struggled to say the words she was thinking.

_I thought you needed to be comforted. I wanted to…_

She blushed as the thought came to her.

_Hold you_ …

Alastor shook his head as he thought she was only scared because she had touched him. Not realizing that she was embarrassed as well. 

With a wave of his hand dismissing the topic he replied, "It's quite alright my dear, no harm done."

He quickly changed the subject. "More importantly I'm sorry for waking you at such an ungodly hour, I simply wanted to get a head start on the day."

He smiled at the word "ungodly" and finished up with, "I hope Niffty didn't startle you too much."

Immediately Charlie came back to her senses and realized why she rushed down here in the first place.

"Oh! No she didn't don't worry. Uh here come this way let me take you to your office and uh… room."

Alastor smiled.

"Splendid, let me just grab my things."

Charlie the turned to walk to the elevator and hit the button. Just as Alastor arrived behind her the doors opened with a *ding* and they both entered.

Charlie hit a button to take them to where their offices would be.

She hesitantly fidgeted and managed to say, "Um… Alastor?"

"Hm?" Alastor looked down to his right to look at Charlie.

"If… you don't mind me asking… what was that… song you were playing earlier?" She looked up at him with doe like eyes.

Alastor's heart almost skipped a beat, and shivers ran down his spine. 

_Oh… how sweet you look…_

He replied with, "I'm afraid it doesn't have a name." He smiled as he closed his eyes.

Charlie then asked the burning question, "Um… why did you play it?" She couldn't stop herself. She had to know. 

Just then the elevator gave an audible *ding* and swung open. Alastor turned away from her to face the hallway and said, "Maybe another time. Now, where is it I'll be burning the midnight oil hm?"

Charlie didn't try to hide her pout.

_Just for that... watch!_

She pointed to the right of the hall.

"That's your office, here let me open it up." She shuffled the keys as she had to find the right one.

When she opened the door Alastor was greeted with quite a nice office, a desk, a chair, good cabinets and a decent sized room altogether.

He nodded to show his approval.

"Ah, this will do just fine."

Just then he looked down to Charlie and said, "Now, where is it I'll be resting my head from now on?"

Charlie motioned with her hand for him to follow her back to the elevator. 

As they went up, Charlie held back her tongue. She wanted to continue the conversation they just had.

She was successful in her silence and when they reached the final floor she walked once more to the right leading Alastor to his new room.

When she opened the door Alastor was pleasantly surprised that the room was quite large. It had a view of the city, a bookshelf, a living room with a three-seat couch, and as he stared he saw just enough space for a special piece of equipment.

Creating a mental note for himself he placed his suitcases down and nodded.

"This will do just fine. Now would you be so kind as to give me a moment to unpack my things? I promise I'll be just a minute."

Charlie spaced out and when she finally came to and looked at him she replied, "Oh yeah sure! Take your time no rush! I'll just head back down to my... office. By the way, here."

She handed him the keys to his new room and office.

She then proceeded to walk out the room but just as she had crossed the threshold Alastor called out to her.

"Oh, Charlie?" She turned to see his large smile.

"I look forward to living with you." With no static in his voice Charlie turned bright red.

All she could muster was a slight nod and quickly closed the door behind her.

_How cute._ Alastor smiled to himself. _I can't wait for what's to come._

On the other side Charlie was leaning on the door. Covering her face with her hands she thought to herself:

_There it is again! Why does he do this to me?! Charlie for the love of… get a grip already!_

She chided herself for a few more moments. She once again tried to push the thoughts and feelings from her mind as she trudged into the elevator to try and get some work done downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a difficult one to write. There were so many details and ideas I wanted to incorporate but never found the right mix and balance for them all. I hope you enjoy this one, any feedback would be appreciated!


	6. Small Perceptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Alastor and Charlie begin to get lost in their heads about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I hope this chapter continues to please. Enjoy!

Within 15 minutes, Alastor had placed his belongings in their rightful place, and patted his hands as if to pat off any dust on his gloves.

_This can do.. for now that is. I have a few tweaks that need attending to but with time, with time…_

He smirked as he let his future plans formulate within his mind, and he stepped out of his room onto the balcony. He took in a large breath and leaned on the railing.

Alastor enjoyed this view, the long outstretched city meeting his eyes. The view of this godforsaken realm was unlike anything he experienced when alive. Despite his reservations about this little adventure he found himself in, as things began to take shape he couldn't hide his energy.

The wind began to rush past him, with his hair being rustled, he began to shiver. At first glance you'd believe he was simply cold, I mean everyone get's cold, right?

But if you look beneath the surface, bubbling under his skin you'd see a dark truth…

Alastor was shivering from excitement, from the promise of the unforeseen future.

He gave out a long, hearty chuckle.

_Everything has so much promise! It's all going so well, I daresay too well!_

He continued to chuckle. As he rubbed his arms he could feel his blood rushing round his body, adrenaline pumping throughout. It was an intoxicating feeling, who knew that being dead could make him feel so alive!

He let himself take in the view for a bit longer, allowing him to fully embrace the situation he's in.

I have my favorite workers, the princess of Hell, and so far two denizens of our lovely little red realm under the same roof! And this is just to start!

_Oh this is sooo Splendid! Thisis going to be so much fun!_

Alastor placed a lock of his hair behind his right ear, and decided to head back inside. After all, he had much to do.

As Alastor finished locking up his door, he turned and stared sweetly at the empty hall. He narrowed his vision as he saw the ornate doors on the other end, with small little apples adorning the corners, two golden handles along with other delicate carvings.

His covered his smirk with one hand and thought to himself:

_I see our resident princess has her own.. Taste for flair._

He decided against approaching the door, what kind of gentleman would he be if he got caught.

_That wouldn't be a good start, having little old me snooping around so soon. I’d be evicted before I even had my first night!_

As he patiently awaited his elevator, his mind began running through all the different adventures he'd have with his little rag-tag group of "staff". He silently hummed a small tune, eyes glowing crimson red. 

Downstairs Charlie had begun reviewing some paperwork with regards to the finance of her hotel.

_This is a mess… this whole thing is literally bleeding money!_

She hated doing this kind of work. Her dream was bigger than something like money. She wanted to see change, reform, happiness in her realm! The thing's that she read of in so much detail!

She took a large breath, and steeled herself.

_Who am I kidding? This place is a money pit, and nobody in their right mind would invest in this!_

_Besides…_

She looked at the walls of her office, looking earnestly for an answer.

_I got laughed at by all of hell, I fought on live tv! ME!_

_How self-righteous can I be to say every demon has a rainbow inside of them when I went all ape-shit on that stupid reporter…_

She smirked at the memory.

_It did feel good though…that sensation…_

As she realized what she was thinking and the shock of it she heard a knock at the door.

She fumbled with her words.

"C-c-come in!"

The door opened up to reveal Vaggie coming in.

"Hey babe, sorry was I interrupting something?"

Charlie pushed her dark thoughts out of her head and shook her head violently from side to side.

"Nope! Not at all! Why would you think that silly? He he…haaa"

She realized as she said the last words her poker face was shit. Vaggie looked at her with sweet tender eyes.

"You know you can tell me the truth right?"

Vaggie walked across the office and sat atop the papers and desk.

She stroked Charlie's golden hair, all the way down to her back.

This caused Charlie to slump over, and bury her head in her arms.

"I know…" Charlie managed to grumble.

Vaggie continued to comfort Charlie for a short time until she lifted Charlie's head off the table and said:

"What's bothering you honey?"

Charlie looked at Vaggie and with concern she said:

"The hotel is losing money, and faster than I expected. The TV add took a bigger cut than I expected and with the outcome being…. Well you know."

Vaggie nodded quietly.

"Now we can't even expect anything from that! And then there goes the whole part where I became a hypocrite on TV and spouted that whole "Rainbow" shit and then went right ahead and fought the bitch and it’s just… UGH!!!"

Charlie shook her hands violently and grabbed at her hair.

All that came from her was sounds of utter frustration and defeat.

Vaggie silently took Charlie's hands and held them tight.

"Babe, look at me."

Charlie with teary eyes looked at her partner.

"You are no hypocrite. You're the sweetest, kindest person I've ever met, alive or dead. The amount of care and love you have in you is immeasurable and I am so happy to be with you. You make everything, all of this…"

Vaggie let go and spread her hands out in the air to signify the vast hotel they were in.

"Possible. What you're doing here, it's noble. And no matter what happens, we can make it happen. We will figure this out, I promise."

Charlie violently hugged Vaggie and tightened her grip burying her face in her lover's stomach.

_There I go again, I hope this time I can keep my promise…._

Vaggie became furious with herself. Recalling old memories, old failures fueled her rage.

_I WILL make this a reality! For her!_  


As they were caressing one another Alastor was in front of Charlie's office, with his back to the door.

A small laugh came from his pursed lips and he began to lightly trace the length of his staff.

_Perfect…._


	7. Tidying Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Niffty continues cleaning the hotel Angel begins to understand just who he's working with, bit by bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far and I definitely enjoy hearing any feedback you guys have for me! I hope you enjoy!

Up above Niffty was out cleaning and wiping away the grime and muck that plagued the hotel.

_Jeez this place is a mess! How'd it even get this way?!_

As she imagined the type of tenants that would lead to this pitiful scene of mildew, insects, and putrid smells she shook her head and her body proceeded to give an instinctual shiver.

_Any person disgusting enough to live like this is a pig! Big fat Oinker!_

The imaginary demon that was the center of Niffty's ideas gave her increased energy.

_This whole place is gonna be squeaky clean!_

As she nodded with acceptance she looked around at the room that was almost done. She was happy with her work, but she was only one small demon, and this whole place it was….

_So much…_

Just then across the hall she could hear an avalanche of clutter fall to the floor and a loud screech.

"FUCKING COCKSUCKER!"

She recognized the voice anywhere.

_Oh good grief…_

She hurried up the last bits of this room, tidied it up to an acceptable level and rushed over.

As she peered over the now large blockade of trash and debris in front of the door, she climbed over effortlessly and found exactly the pitiful sight she imagined.

Angel Dust was covered in soot, grime, trash, and an overall slimy-sewage like thick fluid that covered him from head to toe.

"Fuck this! I'd rather take a hundred spiked cocks than clean anymore of this stupid shit!"

Niffty couldn't hold back her laughter anymore. She was sitting atop a broken chair that was relatively clean swinging her small legs back and forth.

"HAHAHAHA! PFFT! OOOH!!!!"

Angel Dust wiped away some of the goo that drenched his hair to see Niffty towering above him laughing.

"And what the fuck is so funny little miss OCD?!"

While covering her mouth Niffty squeaked out between laughs:

"Y-y-you! Oh! I needed this! Haha!"

Angel was boiling. His face was red, his arms tried taking away the crap that covered him but he couldn’t pull himself up and fell back down.

"Agh!!"

He tried and tried to no avail, which only made him angrier.

"HELP ME YOU STUPID BITCH!"  


Niffty immediately stopped laughing and narrowed her eye on the stuck spider.

"What was that?"

She looked at him with one hand cupping her chin.

Angel looked over and with his one eye that wasn't stuck under some liquid or trash he looked dead at her and said:

"HELP. ME."

Niffty looked at him and twirled her finger as if to say _"rewind that"_ and said:

"No, no, that last word. Repeat it."

Angel then realized she was serious.

"Uh darlin' look I didn't mean to of-"

Niffty lifted her index finger to her lips with a pursed smile to signify _"Shhhhhh"_

She then tilter her head, with a large closed smile and repeated.

"Angel, repeat it."

Angel gulped and looked around the room for some way out of this.

"He he you know it's not so bad being down here you really don't need to…"

Niffty then lost her smile and said quietly:

"Repeat. It. Now."

Angel quietly whispered

"….bitch…."

Niffty clapped her hands and her radiant smile came back.

"See? Wasn't that hard was it?"

Angel didn't say anything, he could feel the dark tension coming off her.

_This broad is really ready to slice my throat, I can feel it._

Niffty then folder her legs and interlocked her fingers placing the palms atop one of her knees.

"Now, how do we ask for help around here Angel? Hm?"

Angel gulped and began to sweat slightly.

"P-p-pl-plea-please….help….me..?"

With a slight weary smile on his face Angel looked up with his one good eye and saw that she was enjoying this.

She immediately nodded and said

"Good Boy! Now stay still this won't take long."

Angel's eyes widened as he saw just how fast Niffty was. She crawled and ran across the trash like it wasn't even there and just when he thought he saw it all he saw something far creepier, scarier even.

Niffty's eye was moving left, right, up, and down as fast as possible as if she was judging her scenery looking for the best, most efficient way to get her job done.

And just as she reached Angel who, with all his might, was still pinned down she effortlessly cut away at the wood, metal, and overall trash that lay atop Angel.

He just stared at her, mouth agape as she began to work and he soon realized something:

_This bitch is strong…._

She began to effortlessly lift the piles of trash, careful not to dirty herself.

Within minutes Angel was lifted from the space he was in and with a sudden shriek he said:

"Woah woah! Chill out! I'm sorry!"

And with a slight chuckle Niffty paid him no mind as she basically carried him over the mountains of crap and dropped him at the front of the room.

With a loud thud his back landed on the floor and his head began to throb from the sudden impact.

"Agh! Damn it…"

As his double vision began to focus back onto Niffty who was standing over him with a sly smile he said:

"Ya know you could've been nicer on the landing doll face."

Niffty began to stare at her sharp nails and retorted:

"Ya know you could've been nicer asking for help."

Angel looked at her and smiled coyly.

"Touché."

Niffty smiling with her victory in tow she offhandedly said to Angel:

"Now! Go get cleaned up you smell grosssss! Can't have you cleaning when you look like that! Nope nope nope!"

Angel got up and tried dusting himself off as best as he could.

"I'm going I'm goin'! I got a reputation to uphold too. Can't go around smellin' like I crawled up something's ass and died anyways."

He began walking with his shoulder hunched over still trying to unstick some of his hands of that sticky substance.

Just as he reached the end of the hallway he heard in that shrill voice of Niffty's:

"Oh! When you come back make sure you bring Husk! I need him!"

With his back turned a large smile spread across his face. He waved his hand as confirmation he understood.

_Oh I'll get him alright…._

His eyes filled with newfound energy and he bit his lip in anticipation. He almost forgot about how dirty he was… almost.


	8. Groggy Awakening

Husk was slowly coming to, not rushing himself knowing he'd need to go slow for the next half-hour or so due to his overconsumption of booze.

He rubbed his eyes with one paw, and out of one of his eyes he saw the blurry ceiling come into focus…well kinda.

He saw what looked like the ceiling but really he was at the edge of his bed and was staring at the floor. Easy mistake really, he had after all lost electricity in his room some nights before.

So for all intents and purposes it was a simple mistake, I mean you'd do it too if you had downed your weight in alcohol the night before.

He slowly slumped over in his bed, now staring at the proper ceiling and he outspread his limbs and wings.

He was able to take in more and more of what was around him as his eyes adjusted to the dark.

He saw at the edge of the corner his wooden cabinets, the semi-hanging portraits of god knows what band (it was there before he got the room not his first choice) and at the other end of the room was the bathroom.

He stretched for a good 10 seconds moving every muscle and yawning loudly. His tension coming undone as his feathers rustled in conjunction with his body shakes.

He slowly dragged himself out of the bed and stood on the floor, inching his way towards the bathroom.

It wasn't like he didn't know where he was going, he could see just fine at this point, but with bottles laying all across his room if he took a full step he'd land on some random bottle and fall on his ass.

So he took the slow route, shuffling his feet meanwhile being mindful of his surroundings. Just as he reached the restroom he saw the small zippo lighter that stood atop the porcelain sink and flicked it alight.

Through the reflection he saw his feathered face, and he again yawned and twisted open the faucet to get some water.

He first rubbed his paws together under the water and proceeded to splash his face with some of the cold water.

As it began to warm up he turned it off, preferring the cold for a good wakeup. It was habitual to him, not that he disliked warm water it's just when you're in hell everything is well… you know… hot.

_Who'd a thunk? Hell is hot. It's not like that was promoted across every fucking chance in religion for these past oh 2 maybe 3 thousand years? Give or take a couple centuries._

He began to sit on the toilet to take a load off and he just stared at the wall, with the zippo's light flickering left and right.

He reached inside his left wing and pulled out a dingy packet of cigarettes and placed one in his mouth.

As he placed the packet back inside one of the folds of his wings we looked over to the lighter and whispered silently to himself:

"Fuck."

He now had to put in effort to reach over, grab the lighter, light his cigarette, and place it back down. He hated effort, especially this early in the day.

He begrudgingly did just that though. As he inhaled his morning cigarette he puffed out the putrid tobacco stench and looked up as it floated away, eventually disappearing altogether.

_If only I could do that…._

He put the thought out of his mind with a second puff and took a large draw in this time. As he was finishing his inhalation he slowly got up, back to the sink, and tapped the cigarette to drop the ash in the sink.

He exhaled, covering the mirror in black for a moment, and he placed the cigarette down on the edge of the sink making sure not to put it out and opened up the medicine cabinet to grab his toothbrush and paste.

As he began brushing his ears piped up as he heard off in the distance, probably a couple levels up a large thud and some bickering.

_Fuck this early? Really?_

He groaned as he spit out the suds in his mouth and finished up.

He placed everything back and took his cigarette in one hand, meanwhile flipping the zippo lighter shut and as he reached his cabinet, dropped it in his hat. He placed the hat back on his head and shuffled his way, slumping all the while to the door.

Just as he was reaching for the door he could hear off in the distance a showerhead turning on. It's not like he's eavesdropping it's just that his hearing is insanely good. What would you expect from ears that size?

With a large breath he opened the door, bracing himself for the long-ass day ahead of him.

Up above Angel had begun his shower and enjoyed the warm water falling down on him. It was a far cry better than that sludge that drenched him earlier, that's for sure.

He started with his hair, making sure to unstick the clumps that began to harden. He then worked his way down to each individual arm, on and so forth.

The whole thing was a mess, and he was scared he'd be pulling this shit out of his hair for days.

As the suds began to do their work and he became cleaner and cleaner with each pass.

_Thank Fuck for that! Can't have myself looking like a fucking loogie!_

He soon placed his hands forward, along the wall and let his head fall down to let the water rush all over him.

It was peaceful, him alone, nothing to bother him, no expectations, no worries, just him.

The water was nice too.

Part of him didn't want this to end, just to stay like that, but a deep part of him felt dark, black, empty. The snarky side of him took over:

_Aw poor little Angel! Feeling so gooood being alone are we? Fucking pathetic! Of course you would like that you antisocial fuck! All you do is fuck shit up anyways._

He smacked the wall hard, almost chipping at the tile of his shower.

_Ooo touched a nerve did I? How cute~_

He grunted and shut the water off as if to signify he had enough of this self-torment. He just stood there in the bath, letting the steam come off of him, looking up at the bright light.

"Just leave me alone…"

He said as he let his head sink back down.

He began to dry himself off and blow dried his hair to get the puff back in it.

He slicked his hair back, started placing on some new pair of clothes, boots, and his trademark choker and skirt.

As his whole outfit came together it was time for the final touches, eyeliner and eye shadow. As he finishes up he puffs his chest out a little more, making his fur pop out like he wants it too.

_Perfect!_

As he walks out he regains his self-confidence and begins to walk with his hips swaying back and forth with each step.

He remembers the last thing Niffty asked him to do and he smiles wide, revealing his shiny gold fang with anticipation.

_Here I come Huskyyyy~_

As Husk reached the bottom of the hotel and walked towards the bar he instantly had a shiver run down his spine and involuntarily flapped his wings and body.

_Fuck was that about?_

Husk chalked it up to not having his morning drink yet and walked behind the bar to scavenge for his morning drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this new chapter I worked on, your thoughts would be more than welcome!


	9. Small disagreements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter I hope it was worth the wait!

Alastor's smile had allowed a large white static noise to emanate from his mouth and just as small red symbols began to emanate from his person he quickly turned it off and adjusted his tie.

With his normal appearance back he lightly knocked on the door.

Inside he could hear the quick rustling of clothes and small sniffling. After a short while he heard:

"Come in!"

And with his glowing eyes his view rested on the two maidens in the room: Charlie and Vaggie.

"My I hope I wasn't intruding on anything, was I?"

Charlie trying hard to hide her bloodshot eyes wiped away a tear with a small sniffle.

"No no Al you're fine."

Vaggie on the other hand was staring daggers at the intruder in red.

Alastor looked at Vaggie and smiled.

"Is something on your mind dear?"

Vaggie was about to open her mouth when Charlie silently grabbed her hand and tightly gripped it.

Vaggie understood what that meant: _No fighting._

With a large sigh, "No Alastor."

With a gleeful response: "Perfect! Now Charlie I'd like to go over some subjects with you in regards to our little hotel!"

Charlie was slowly regaining her composure again.

"Sure Al what did you have on your mind?"

Alastor began to take a seat and his slender legs folded one atop the other.

"You see I wanted to go over what happened her before I arrived so that I may understand where we can go from here."

Charlie's ears perked up when she heard that.

"Pardon?"

Alastor cocked his head.

"It's as I said, I would like to know the events prior to our partnership, the idea, the acquisition, the paperwork, the efforts, so on and so forth."

Alastor was waving his hand in a circular motion at the end to emphasize the needless repetition of what he meant.

Vaggie immediately let go of Charlie's hands and placed her palms on the table while hunching her shoulders to show a more predatorial stance.

"And why do you need that information??"

Vaggie asked Alastor.

This time Alastor turned to Vaggie and locked eyes.

"So that I may accurately understand where we came from, how we got here, and how to move forward."

Vaggie's eyes began to squint as she narrowed in on Alastor.

"All you need to worry about is where we are going and how you can help, I don't see why you need all that other info."

At this time Alastor now slightly narrowed his eyes as he stared at Vaggie. Before he could respond Charlie interrupted the two:

"Vaggie please it isn't unreasonable to ask those questions."

Vaggie then quickly turned to Charlie.

"Yes it is Charlie he's asking us to open up to him when we barely know him!"

Alastor then sat back as he saw the two argue over the topic of whether or not he should know the past.

He quietly thought to himself: _My there is some underlying tension here I was unaware of… Where does it stem from? Inadequacy? Jealousy? Or perhaps…_

As he began to list the possible reasons for the heated debate he was watching Charlie decided to finish it with:

"Vaggie this is my hotel. I can do with it as I see fit! If you can't be understanding of how much help we need then I need you to get out of my office."

_Ooooh!!!_ Alastor thought to himself.

That little tidbit hit his ears and caught him off-guard taking him out of his train of thought and he could see the impact it had on the room.

Vaggie couldn't believe what she just heard. She was ordered out of her lover's office when just minutes ago she was comforting her! She could feel the confusion and rage building up inside of her and bit her tongue to stop herself form saying anything.

"Fine." With a quick response Vaggie walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her, her face turning redder by the second.

Charlie gave out a large sigh and buried her head into her arms. She gave out a large "Ahhh!" that was muffled.

Alastor was savoring every second of the whole encounter, he was practically salivating at the whole ordeal.

But he composed himself and quietly got up, walked over to Charlie, and sat on the corner of her desk.

He then placed his long arms around her and slowly lifted her up.

He could see the tears streaming down her rose cheeks he placed one hand on her face and with his thumb wiped away some of her tears.

"What seems to be the matter Charlie?"

Charlie was trying to keep her composure but she was losing hard.

Through sniffles she was able to squeak out a couple phrases here and there.

"It's just… the thing is… ugh…"

She wasn't able to keep her thoughts straight with all these emotions crowding her mind.

Alastor then gave a sweet smile and hugged her to his chest.

Charlie was surprised and almost pulled back if it wasn't for the immediate comfort she felt.

"Shhh my dear…. Come let it all out, I'm here."

As he slowly ran his hand through her golden hair she finally broke down.

She wailed and grasped at the back of Alastor tightly.

Alastor rested his cheek on her head and he slightly whispered to her:

"Belle petite fleur, venez ici." (Beautiful little flower, come here.)

With those sweet words Charlie heavily panted into Alastor's suit and began pounding at his back with ferocity, as if she was trying to break through a wall.

Alastor paid no mind to the fists that tried to dig themselves into his back.

To him it was as if a toddler was play fighting with him, landing punches that made him giggle more than anything.

But, in reality, Charlie's fists and nails could tear into flesh, break bones, and cripple any normal demon.

Alastor had fared through much worse. In fact, Alastor had bared the weight and pressure of so much you'd be forgiven if you compared his feats to the Titan Atlas, who was damned into holding the heavens forevermore.

Soon Charlie had let all her emotions out.

All the pain, the humiliation, the doubt, where was her support? Why wasn't she good enough? Why did nobody care?

She continued wailing and crying and blubbering about meanwhile all Alastor did was smile sweetly and let her be.

And as she slowly pulled herself away from the damp suit of Alastor she was greeted with a small smile from her new partner and he subsequently pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away the remaining tears from her face.

"Feeling better now?"

Alastor looked sweetly at Charlie.

"Mmhhmm" Charlie responded.

As she took the handkerchief from Alastor she saw that her fingernails had ripped portions of red cloth attached to them and she yelped out loudly.

"What's wrong my dear?"

Alastor looked confused and Charlie stared at him in utter confusion. _Why is she backing away? Did I reveal something too soon? No I couldn't have…_

"I…I… I'm so sorry Al! Let me see your back!"

Alastor was still confused until he saw her hands.

He gave out a bellowing laugh that filled the room.

"This isn't funny Al! I hurt you!"

Alastor waved his hand to try and dismiss her fear and placed his hands on hers, interlocking their fingers.

He placed his forehead on hers and said:

"Darling it will take more than a little fit like that to hurt me, I'm perfectly fine."

Charlie was persistent on this matter.

"Turn around! Now!"

Alastor pulled away and saw the red in her eyes. It sent a chill down his spine, the ferocity of her stare, the authority in her voice, it was intoxicating.

"As you wish, princess."

He slowly got up and turned around.

What Charlie saw next was horrifying.

His whole back was in tatters, the suit was ripped in uneven strips, different shades of red barely covering his skin and as she gasped Alastor resisted the urge to say anything.

Charlie slowly began to move pieces of the now tattered clothing to try and find any blood but all she found was his grey skin, and scars. These scars had seemed to fade but she couldn't see well with all the tattered cloth in the way, as she tried to feel closer Alastor quickly turned around and grabbed her hands.

"I believe you've completed your inspection my dear."

Charlie looked at him shocked.

"Why aren't you hurt?"

Charlie was now running through all the times she had accidentally hurt people with her strength. Everyone, and I mean everyone around her was hurt one way or another. Either if she accidentally tripped, if she slapped their back too hard, if she gripped their hand too hard, ever since she was a child.

All her servants, friends, even partners had incurred some damage some way but here….

_He's different…. I went all out… I hit him, scratched him, teared at him and he's……_

Alastor could see the shock on her face and once again placed his hands on her face, tilting it up to lock eyes.

"You could never hurt me mon cher."

Charlie looked at him and was amazed. Her was a man who didn’t even flinch at what happened….

Reluctantly Alastor let go of Charlie's face and he could see Charlie didn't want him to let go either.

"But my dear I must say it may be best if I go and change, you did seem to do a number on my suit after all."

Charlie snapped out of her amazement and began to blush.

"I'm sorry Al!"

Again Alastor gave out a laugh. "It is quite alright dear, it is only clothing."

He soon got up and walked towards the door and just as he was about to leave he turned around and said:

"You know my dear, if you wanted to take my clothes off that much all you had to do was ask."

With a wink and a large laugh Alasor walked out the door and into the hallway.

Charlie was now bright red.

_W--w-w-w-w-whhaaaat?!?!!!_

She immediately covered her face to hide her embarrassment.

He gave out another bellowing laugh and waved his hand in the air for a small goodbye.


	10. Interim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a very long overdue chapter. I hope to be able to give more timely updates. Enjoy!

Soon enough Angel came down to the first floor looking for her new favorite member and as if on cue, Husk popped up from behind the bar eyeing a bottle.

_Perrffect._ Angel thought.

Just as Husk was about to put his lips to the bottle Angel said:

"Why don't you put those lips someplace else baby?" In a sultry voice.

Husk closed his eyes and a shiver went down his spine.

_Can't I get a fucking break for one day?!_ Husk thought to himself.

"Get the fuck away from me Angel!" Husk leaned over menacingly.

"Ah c'mon babe I'll make it worth your while~ " Angel seductively walked over to the counter.

Husk looked at him playing with his hair and chest.

"You think that works on me?"

Angel stopped in his tracks and was taken about. "Whatchu mean sweetie?"

Husk looked at him dead in the eyes. "That whole little show you decide to put on, the innuendos, the fucking way you carry yourself, that gets you far huh?"

With a sense of pride Angel responded "Damn right it does! Nobody can resist muah!"

Angel then began circling his fingers on the counter "I bet you wanna take a peak underneath don't ya?"

He creeped in closer to Husk who was unfazed. "C'mon let's get to my room I'll show you tricks you never even dreamt of~ "

Husk looked straight in his eyes and saw through the poker face Angel was putting on. If anybody could read someone it was Husk, he made a killing in poker, it was his livelihood.

But Angel didn’t know that his eyes gave everything away, the way he was treated, the way he acted, everything accumulated into who Angel was now but he gave away too much every time he opened his mouth.

Husk took a big sigh and retreated from the counter, he went back and got two glasses and poured one for Angel and one for himself.

Angel was taken aback, Husk never did this before, not unless asked. In fact the only time he's ever seen to be pouring was for the resident overlord that summoned him here in the first place.

"Aww thanks sugar I knew I was growing on ya!" Angel happily accepted the glass and clinked his glass with Husk's.

Husk just grunted and looked at his own glass, wondering how he should respond. He usually never cared about others but in the short time he was here he couldn’t shut off his ability to pick up on subtleties.

Try as he might Husk's gift was a curse. He could see a train wreck of a couple or a conversation within minutes, pickup hesitation's from one person and analyze why it happened, the possible reasons, hell even before the person themselves knew why.

He usually hated picking up on people's personal shit, it wasn't his job. Who the fuck was he, a therapist?

They wouldn't believe him anyways, and when he touched a nerve even when he was alive they called him a freak. He overanalyzed everything and the only way he found a way to dull the senses was his vice of choice: liquor.

After Angel downed the shot he looked at Husk's puzzled face, usually Husk would have finished his bottle in the time it took him to set the glass back down but now Angel was curious.

"Hey Husky are you good?" Angel wasn't one to be overbearing but even he noticed when something was off.

"Mmmm" was all Husk said as he began to twirl the glass in his claws.

"Come on babe lemme hear what's on your mind! Trust me I'm a great listener!" Angel placed his head atop two of his hands while the rest of his arms rested on his lap.

Husk was mentally going through his checklist of why he shouldn't give a fuck but even he had some form of conscience, even though he wish he didn't.

Husk reluctantly sighed and looked at Angel who now had puppy eyes and Husk met him with dead fish eyes.

_I can’t be causing trouble every single time some shit happens, I already went off on Alastar with Charlie, if I start up now who knows what shit I’ll get into._

Husk then grabbed his glass, downed it slowly and with a resolute stance in he simply replied:

“Just don’t try any shit on me, I ain’t like everybody else around you.”

Angel was taken back a bit and looked at Husk questioningly.

“Whatchu mean not like everybody else?”

With some sass added into the mix Husk gave a sigh in his mind and then placed his glass on the counter.

“Nothing, forget it.”

Angel was now very interested in this conversation, typically with a few innuendos most men would charge at the chance to bed Angel, after all he was a popular pornstar, to these degenerates he’s like royalty.

Angel now slowly led his middle finger to gently caress the top of his glass in a circular fashion.

“C’mon Husky tell me I wanna know E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.~ “

Husk shuddered when Angel emphasized his words.

_This bastard really has to get on my nerves every single time._

Husk held himself back, something he rarely does. All he did was grunted once and tried to brush it off.

Angel felt like he gained a little ground with this reaction;

_He NEVER did this before? Did I say something? Ooh maybe I said something!_

Angel then started to lay on the act more and more, accentuating his chest and with his half-lidded eyes started to completely scan Husk with lust crazed eyes.

_Oh……shit._

Was all Husk was able to say before he saw a familiar shadow coming down the stairs


	11. Banter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the lovely comments you've left on my work and thank you for enjoying the story so far! It truly makes me happy to hear that you are looking forward to the continuation of this story and I will continue to do my best to make this story to the best of my ability. That being said, enjoy this new chapter and tell me what you think!

As he rounded the corner Husk was able to pickup on the newcomer quite quickly, in fact it'd be depressing if he couldn't. The resident overlord had come strolling down to the bar as if nothing was the matter.

_For once in my life I'm happy to see this asshole._ Was the first thought that came to mind when he saw Alastor pop up unannounced.

Alastor, with his trademark smile, came over with a jubilant pep in his step and twirling his staff with ease as if it had a mind of it's own and wanted to play around the tips of his fingers.

It was like a baton from an expert cheerleader, except the weight and force behind Alastor's movements were deceiving to the eye. If one were to say, come into contact with the staff midway through these swings, they'd be hard pressed to not be sent flying tens of feet in the opposite direction, to say nothing about their body.

The point of contact would be turned into mush for most demons, and those who are a little more resilient would only find themselves wishing they were mush because the fractures and the internal bleeding would be exuberant to say the least.

If demons couldn't regenerate on their own, surgeons would make a killing simply following the wake of any particularly damned soul that got in Alastor's way, that is to say if they were even able to be spared in the first place.

But with the swagger that comes with a carefree attitude, Alastor smiled and soon arrived at the counter of the bar.

Angel who was already quite eager to drop into Husk's metaphorical pants was carefully eyeing up Alastor as he came into the room.

Lecherous thoughts swirled all around that mind of Angel's, thinking of taking one of them at a time, maybe even two, and the more he thought the more he couldn't resist that lecherous fire that stemmed from his abdomen.

"Hey there smiles, you're looking hot today~"

Alastor smiled at Angel and simply nodded, his mind of course was somewhere else, at least somewhere he decided was more important than the conversation that was to take place at the bar.

_Mmmfff the silent, cold type!_

Angel loved those who played hard to get, because they were so rare! It's a bad habit to have, wanting something that's hard to obtain. After all, many times the delusions of grandeur often are much more satisfying than reality is.

But, in the cases of Alastor and Husk, Angel had a feeling that even his strongest and most outrageous delusion would fall face first in regards to these two. It was something akin to faith, if that was something that could even exist in hell.

Alastor simply continued smiling and almost absentmindedly asked Husk for a single malt scotch with some ice.

"Comin' up." Husk replied in a pleased tone.

This didn't escape Alastor's attention, but he paid it no mind rather shelving it for later digestion. He simply couldn't be bothered to even think about the implications of Husk being in a good mood to see him.

Angel then started to lean closer to Alastor, looking more so at his features and face than anything else.

He saw the curvature of his neck, the grey skin that popped out from the red clothing. He saw the chiseled jawline, the bridge of his nose that complemented his face, and the eyes that radiated a sense of power, serenity, madness, and a multitude of other emotions that would cause one to feel dizzy.

Finally looking at the red hair and antlers that adorned the man seated next to him. The hair looked lush and soft, the antlers looked firm, and the overall fit and shape contoured Alastor's face perfectly.

It was as if this man was chiseled from the pits of hell to bewitch those unlucky enough to come his way. And best of all, he was a powerful man.

The type of power that didn't need to be proven, it was an aura of superiority of any around him, but it wasn't overbearing. In fact, compared to other overlords it was extremely marginalized, but make no mistake, if you poked and prodded too much you'd find that he was not lacking in having his presence being overbearing.

All this made Angel become even more intrigued to mess with the two near him.

"So my strawberry pimp, what's gotten you into such a good mood?"

To this even Husk was interested. It was rare to see Alastor this content, but his curiosity turned into fear just moments later.

"I simply ran into Charlie is all, we had a bit of a chat." Alastor plainly replied.

But this time even Angel could read between the lines, let alone Husk. To make a man like Alastor happy over a simple chat? Impossible.

No, he had to have gained something incredible to make him this happy. And this was the case. After all, he had effectively driven the beginnings of a wedge between Vaggie and Charlie, and he did so with such minimal effort!

To top it all off he even landed a seat in Charlie's little heart, one that was beginning to be filled with less hesitation and more admiration and even hints of affection.

Angel that sassily replied, "Hmmm I see…. Someone's got the hots for our little princess huh?"

Angel slyly teased Alastor, he then inched closer to Alastor.

"You know, I could show you things that princess wouldn't even dream of being possible." His sultry voice was laced with the confidence of a succubus.

Angel was a pro at seducing people, it was his job. In a few sentences he could have you eating out of the palm of his hand if he so wanted, and this proved to be effective on a multitude of demons.

Even to one's at the so-called top rung like Valentino. So why would Alastor be any different, right?

Alastor simply gazed at Angel with empty eyes, no longer filled with that vortex of emotion that clashed within his eyes and dryly replied: "No thank you. This deal isn't to my taste."

Shot down like a bird from the sky was a shock to Angel. But it was hilarious to Husk.

Husk began to cough like crazy as he was gulping down pint after pint of booze but in this case he almost collapsed from the pitiful sight of Angel's rejection.

He saw it coming a mile away but this time Angel was invested, not like the first time he offered to give a blowjob.

No, this time Angel WANTED Alastor, partly because Husk had lit the fire in his belly, and partly because Alastor was a hot piece of ass to him.

But, this time he ended up burned. And Husk took it all in. The roar of laughter that came unceasingly made Angel turn red in embarrassment.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP HUSK!" Was Angel's retort.

"Fuck that!" Was Husk's response in between his unending snickering.

Finally. The annoying shit got what he deserved and was left with a deadpan face that was to die for. All that aggravation in Husk was let out all at once and he even forgot the hesitation he had when he heard about Charlie from Alastor.

Al simply continued to sip his drink as the now fuming Angel tried to regain his composure.

You reap what you sow after all, and this time he let his emotions get the best of him.

The loud laughter caught someone else's attention too; and it just so happens she had a large bone to pick with a certain red demon.

As Vaggie overheard the conversation from the other side of the hallway, she quietly walked over steaming from the last encounter and when she saw the ripped back of Alastor it was as if a switch clicked.

Anger seethed from every pore in her body, it intensely accumulated in the air around the room and fluctuated the overall climate of the room.

No longer was it filled with laughter and embarrassment, no.

A killing intent was permeating the air, sending shivers down Angel and Husk's spine. As they saw Vaggie's eye become bloodshot red and her holding her spear like a soldier ready for battle they saw the target of her rage was calmly sipping his drink.

Soon an enraged scream filled the hotel, as if it was transmitted to everyone's very soul.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO CHARLIE YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH!"


	12. Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a bit to write but I think it's the best chapter so far. It's the one I worked quite a bit on to try and get right and here it is! Let me know what you think!

As Alastor continued to gently sip his cup the other's had already unknowingly begun to retreat further and further, scared.

All except Vaggie who was standing her ground, her feet digging into the ground creating cracks along with the power that was circulating through her veins.

Angel saw the back of Alastor and although he could see no blood, he could only imagine what had transpired between Al and Charlie, and the once horny spider found himself at a loss for words.

_I wanted to fuck him not too long ago.. And now… what's he done?_

Husk began to think at a faster rate than almost anyone in the room, thinking back to every situation he had ever encountered both Alastor and Charlie, and then he finally replayed the memory of him asking Alastor to not harm Charlie, and he felt a pit in his stomach that was growing rapidly.

Vaggie on the other hand was only circulating the foulest anger and hatred that could be born in Hell, hatred that came from one's very soul.

It was the only reason why both Husk and Angel had taken steps back, that hatred so thick it caused two seasoned demons who were no stranger to death and chaos, to retreat.

Alastor was a bit shocked himself, it was very rare to have someone channel such power through such a tiny body. Especially one who wasn't in the power rankings across hell.

And he had known many, if not all, of those who could produce such power.

See, the soul is a funny thing. It seems to be everlasting yet isn't, but also it is. You die, and your soul remains. You can live for eons in Hell and be fine, but you can also live for a year and be slaughtered countless times by your fellow demons, even eaten and still regenerate, albeit much, much weaker.

But you can also be killed by the Angels who descend from heaven every year, and that can also be called a true death.

You are both the manifestation of your soul and body given form yet you can also be killed in certain aspects. Immortal life, everlasting torture, or even brief death.

Many never decide to think about these things in Hell, after all who wants to waste their time spending over this philosophical crap when you can indulge in all your favorite sins day after day?

But see, Alastor is one of those few who crave to know. It is one of the few things he can still enjoy, because to him knowledge is something others overlook. Yes, knowledge is power, but this power is different from anything physical, it helps sharpen the mind into a powerful sword that can cut through anything, it can be an impregnable shield, it can even be both if used wisely.

Which is why Alastor found this little scene so intriguing. To give hatred so deep it burns into one's soul is something fascinating, it is truly a rare skill.

He may have truly underestimated the little moth and her potential.

And as Alastor was busy musing under this newfound information Vaggie was beginning to lose all semblance of reasoning.

Being ignored when asking was her last straw, she had circulated enough power to topple most demons in a few good blows and now she was ready to tear the answer out of Alastor.

She was fuming, and red dyed her eye, and she launched herself at an angle from the ground.

It was like a sprinter off the start line, almost perpendicular to the ground and the with the speed she was displaying she caught the back of Alastor in almost an instant.

She easily twirled the spear once and was in motion to cut Alastor in two, and just as her spear was about to touch the hair atop Alastor he finally moved.

It wasn't quick, but it wasn't slow either. In fact, it was almost effortless. He got up, twisted around, and with his back now facing the back of Vaggie took one step in all as her spear fell down onto the bar and stool cutting it in two.

The resulting explosion was fierce, it shook the hotel to it's foundation. The cut was clean but the resulting force from the swing splintered the whole bar into smithereens. Chunks of wood were flown about and all that was left was a man holding his drink and a woman who's spear was embedded into the floor.

Everyone was shocked at the result. Angel and Husk immediately found themselves unknowingly holding their breath while Vaggie was now stunned that at full speed all she got was wood, no flesh.

Alastor was quite startled himself to see how effectively Vaggie was handling this power. It could be said she was using it as if it was her normal state in a way, but this power was rare for a reason.

Hate that bores that deep comes at a price, and he knew it.

As much as he wanted to continue seeing her power grow, he couldn't just go around destroying a new toy. Especially when it hadn't even matured just yet.

Vaggie swung around to see Alastor calmly sipping his drink and she put all reasoning aside and started swinging wildly at Alastor.

Hundreds of glinting lights flashed as she twirled about the room wanting to sever Alastor's head from his body, but she had no way to catch him. As she was moving at a speed recently unprecedented he was calmly avoiding each and every attack as if he was flowing water.

Just as the fight was beginning to grow white hot Charlie had finally arrived to see the mess that was happening.

She had used her own power to sense what was happening but as she saw it with her own eyes she was shocked.

Vaggie had turned into a deep crimson red demon fluttering past stopping at nothing to kill Alastor, and Alastor had a serene smile as he simply flowed past her.

In every respect he was her better, and he hadn't even used anything except his perplexing movements to gain an advantage.

But just as Vaggie was beginning to grow even more fervent in her attacks Charlie finally snapped out of it as she saw Vaggie's body corroding away.

It was a slight corrosion, hard to see with all the deep crimson red covering her body, but those black flakes coming off of her body were definitely corroding away both body and soul.

Of course what Charlie saw Alastor saw clear as day. He couldn't delay any longer, and he needed to finish this quickly. Otherwise irreparable damage would befall Vaggie and he wouldn't let heaven or hell take this chance away.

But, before he could act another power erupted, one that caused the room to quake once more. This time though it came from Charlie, she used her presence to shock Vaggie into recovering somewhat that followed along with a roar that reverberated through everyone's soul.

"STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY!"

The newfound presence caused everyone to shiver again, because this one came from nobility. If Vaggie was said to cause reverberations through sheer power this one was as if you couldn't bear to stand and the only way to abate it was to kneel. It was something engrained only in those of true descent, namely those of divinity.

And with this familiar and powerful aura Vaggie snapped out of her blood rage and saw her beloved Charlie.

Except this time that Vaggie saw Charlie she was being stared back at with vicious eyes, horns ablaze, and the killing intent she never imagined emanate from her own lover aimed directly at her.

To fight rage you needed rage, to fight someone who wants to kill you need to have a greater bloodlust, it is the way things work in Hell.

Power speaks above all, and even Alastor had to nod in appreciation to Charlie's display of power.

_I see that my gamble wasn't in vain after all, Lucifer you really do have such a fascinating daughter._

But this was no time to sit and appreciate the majesty that was Charlie.

Although she had stunned Vaggie, it didn't stop the blood red rage enveloping her.

And as quickly as Vaggie had lunged at Alastor, Alastor had now done the same.

Everyone watched stunned as Alastor came behind Vaggie, and had his hand slice through the air to the nape of her neck.

Charlie bellowed loudly, "NO!"

And rushed as fast as she could but Alastor this time paid no heed to her call.

He needed to finish this, and he would do it swiftly. He pierced through Vaggie's neck with his fingers and blood spurted out of the wound.

Just as he was retracting his hand Charlie had lit aflame her own fist and shoved it straight into Alastor's chest, flinging him into the nearby wall.

He flew for meters until he came to a stop and saw how embedded into the structure he was.

_Now that, hurt._

He chuckled to himself.

But everyone else threw their attention to the now bleeding Vaggie, and how she was lying limply in Charlie's arms.

Blood was soaking her coat and she began to cry, with no end in sight.

Vaggie looked dead, and it was at the hands of the man who she just cried into not even an hour ago.

"Vaggie please wake up. Please! We can talk about what went wrong, we can talk about what happened, we can! Please come back to me! Please don’t go!"

Angel and Husk both had a somber look on their faces. They had seen it all yet could do nothing. They weren't prepared, and they had saw just how terrifying an "overlord" could be first hand.

Alastor slowly walked out of the dust and rubble and as his shadow loomed over the room Charlie looked with red in her eyes and slowly placed Vaggie down.

Now it was her turn to let out the rage that was welling up inside. Except this time it didn't need time to charge, it was already festering in her, ready to blow in an instant.

And now Husk and Angel both nodded in unison, and prepared themselves for this new fight. They were caught unprepared before, but not now.

With Angel and his guns, Husk with his wings, and Charlie with her flames, they were prepared to tear into Alastor the moment his figure came out.

And just as he stepped out, all he saw were three blurs come at him.

He could've dodged, he could've incapacitated them all, but as he saw Vaggie lying limply on the floor he decided against it.

_Ah, so that's it._

And he simply smiled as he was assaulted from all sides.

Bullets reached him first, tearing away at his stripped clothing, wings came next cutting at his torso and neck, and finally came the fire that enveloped him whole.

All shouting in unison, "YOU BASTARD!"

And like before he was flung back into the wall, making a new hole right beside the one he just crawled out of. But this time Charlie followed.

She went on and on with the fists and fire, tearing, screaming, even biting at Alastor's form.

Husk and Angel followed suit, causing as much damage as they could to the man who had seemingly murdered their friend.

And as the dust settled and Charlie was gripping Alastor's neck, Husk's steel-like wing pointing at Alastor's heart, and Angel's gun staring right down Alastor's forehead it seemed like Alastor was done for.

Two of the three demons were vetted for decades already in the wars in hell, and the last was part of the royal family. All three combined would make any demon shiver when thinking about what would happen if they took the attack all out.

And the one who broke the silence was Charlie.

"I TRUSTED YOU! I gave into YOU! Look at all you've done! You've taken HER from ME! Neither God or the Devil will save YOU! I swear by the blood that runs through my veins that I will hear you squeal like the little pig that you are! You DISGUST ME!"

And the bloodlust gleam in all their eyes met Alastor's who hadn't even turned into that demonic form of his.

Yet his small smile grew into a large and devilish one.

He began to laugh hysterically, he had suffered the attacks of all three and he now saw a sight worth seeing! One who owed him attacked him! One who hated him earlier had fallen to her rage! One who was renowned as an insufferable whore now seethed at the teeth to kill him! And the best of it all? The little princess who wanted to see the best in all of demon-kind was now calling him a pig!

_Oh this is just wonderful! Splendid! Marvelous!_

The laughter echoed throughout and Angel and Husk's back crawled with disgust.

_Just what the fuck is wrong with him?!_

And again Charlie spoke as she tightened her steel grip on his throat.

"Laugh while you can you shit-stained abomination of a soul. It'll be the last form of enjoyment you'll have for the rest of eternity. I'll feed you to Cerberus, take your body to all nine circles parading your mangled body as a trophy for what you took from me. Everlasting pain and humiliation is what awaits you here, little Radio Demon!"

And the laughter continued, as if unhindered by Charlie's grip.

But at the edge of the hallway Niffty appeared by Vaggie's body holding her to her chest. The blood now dry, and a slow breathing was heard from Vaggie. Her chest rising and falling ever so slightly.

And as if that wasn't enough finally Alastor moved. He looked first at Charlie, then at Angel, and finally at Husk.

_All three of you are just so precious!_

And finally his gaze fell on Niffty. As if seeing Niffty's gaze let him know Vaggie was alright his laughter grew even colder. All this had happened and the best part was they didn't even know the joke!

Finally Alastor stopped laughing and slowly strained his neck until he stared directly at Charlie.

"Is that what you truly want, your highness?" He said with a snickering tone.

"It's more than you deserve!" She replied.

And he finally looked at the other two, "You agree?"

Angel replied, "You're a piece of shit! I thought Valentino was the lowest of the low now I see you're just some fucking maniac in a red suit. You should've been aborted you scum sucking cocksucker!"

Husk nodded saying, "I've served your favors long enough you red colored bastard. I don't care what consequences come of our agreement, today I'll finally pay down all the debt I owe as long as I take you to the fucking grave you sick demented son of a bitch!"

At the last phrase, finally the smile slowly diminished and a glaring sinister light replaced it.

"I've taken the polls and seen your hand, now, let me show you mine."

And just as they were preparing to once again engage in the fight Alastor slowly closed his eyes, and a little red X appeared on his forehead. Suddenly all three were unable to move, no matter how hard they tried.

It was the first time they all experienced a spatial lock. It was one of the many tools Alastor had at his disposal. And he slowly moved his hand to unclench Charlie's fingers from his throat, moved his body out of the wall and rubbed his wrists. The three glared at him but that's all they could do.

He unhurriedly patted himself and as the dust settled and his clothing was shown the body that was supposed to be riddled with holes was instead replaced with a body that had multitudes of scars, but old ones. Different shapes and sizes, small ones, large ones, some in the shape of holes, others as if a knife had trailed down his skin, but no new wounds.

The only thing he had was a few red marks where the bullets, hands, and wings had glided across his skin but nothing more.

And as they saw the man before them rise from the hole they all realized they were no match. This man had, without throwing a single punch, beaten them hand over fist.

And just as they realized how mistaken they were he released their bodies and simply raised his hand to point where Niffty and Vaggie were.

"Take a look for yourselves, see the calamity you all fought so hard to avenge."

And as they turned their heads they saw Niffty caressing Vaggie's head, and saw here chest slowly rise and fall.

And then you could hear three *thunks* repeatedly fall to the ground. First was Charlie, then Angel, and finally Husk.

Charlie crawled while sobbing towards the two figures across the way.

"Vaggie! VAGGIE!"

Angel looked despondent.

Husk looked back and forth from the two girls to this grey-skinned demon with an incredulous look.

As Charlie reached Vaggie and held her head Niffty calmly said, "Don’t shout, she's just unconscious. In fact she should be much, much worse. Let her rest, she'll be fine."

Charlie, with teary eyes nodded and sniffled with a "Mmm…" acknowledging Niffty's assessment of her lover.

As Niffty got up and turned away from Charlie and Vaggie she stared at Alastor and calmly said, "You should thank him for this outcome." As she pointed to Alastor.

Charlie looked at the now calmly smiling Alastor and with a hoarse voice looked questioningly at Niffty.

"….why?!" She managed to croak out.

Niffty slowly looked back down at the couple and said, "You should've seen for yourself the state she was in. She was burning her own soul and crumbling to fight him. She was borrowing power that wasn't hers. You should've guessed that and that's why you interrupted their fight, right?"

Charlie looked stunned and absentmindedly nodded at Niffty's words.

"Then you should've also seen what he did to her. He stopped her corrosion from spreading, severed her from the power and instead infused his own within her to stabilize her. And he did it all while ignoring your soul-shocking scream and pressure. He even took all your blows to make sure the wound would close correctly and that she wouldn't suffer any backlash from two forms of energy colliding in her body."

The words that fell from Niffty's mouth shocked all three, but Alastor simply smiled approvingly at Niffty.

_She may have one eye, but her abilities to sense and judge the situation is far superior to these few fellows. Truly praise-worthy._

As all three heard the words they changed from numb-despondency to fear, then shock, and finally looked stupidly at the half-naked demon across the room.

"And even after he took those blows you still went after him with everything, all three of you. You all assumed he killed her, and you let your rage consume you. And yet he took it silently. And all of you had condemned him, and yet he smiled. All of you had wanted to take his very life, and all he did in the end was save your friend and restrain you one time."

She finally turned her eye to Husk.

"Above all I would've thought you had better judgement, Husk. You blind fool."

And then she turned to Angel.

"I thought you'd know true evil when you saw it for yourself, Angel. Considering who you work for and what he does to his play-things."

And finally back to Charlie.

"And you, your highness. So quick to show how you really treat demons. We're all good huh? Sunshine and rainbows? Is that your schtick? Look at you now. All it takes is one life-saving swing and you mistake it like it's taking her undead life. You look more like your father now than ever-before. Rehabilitation? Happiness? Just some charade you're playing at. I'm sure your father and mother must be so proud of the hypocrite they raised."

Alastor then calmly walked towards Niffty his smile slowly retreating into that of a small smirk.

"He didn't even start this fight yet he didn't hurt a single one of you. And he had every right to kill all four of you! And look at you now, you stupid, idiotic, self-centered pieces of crap. He has more decency than the three of you combined, and he spared you?! After all you did?! And even more after all you SAID?! Count yourselves lucky. I would've torn the flesh from your bones, roasted your hearts on a pike, fed your eyes to vultures, and had every depraved whorehouse fuck the corpse left behind you evil sadistic convoluted pieces of -!"

Just as she was about to finish Alastor placed his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. Her fists balled tightly, blood running down her fist from her palm being pierced by her nails.

"That's quite enough dear. Let's not get too carried away."

Niffty's heart was racing and all she could handle was a slight nod.

"Come, let me take a look at your palms upstairs. I'll need to trouble you to help me fix up a new set of clothes, I'm afraid these are no good anymore."

Niffty quietly exhaled and let out a small squeak of a reply.

"Yes sir."

She was the first to walk out, and Alastor simply turned around and smiled at the three on the ground, his hands cupped behind his back, and followed her out.

The room fell silent, nobody even dared to breathe too loudly. Silence was all that was left in the room that had held a life-and-death fight twice in under twenty minutes.


	13. Small Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late upload I'll try to make it a bit more regular. Here's another one for you to enjoy!

As the two were ascending in the elevator, Niffty began to grow more and more concerned with her emotions.

_How could he just take that? They basically spat all over him!_

This time it seemed that the elevator ride up to Alastor’s room was an eternity. The deafening silence became too much for Niffty to bear and she eventually had to say something.

But just as she opened her mouth Alastor spoke very calmly,

“Are you confused my dear?”

Niffty began to slowly look up to the man next to her, and with his usual smile looked at Niffty with the same adoration one would a small puppy.

Niffty with her big eye that had it’s veins bloodshot red tried her best to slowly nod indicating her confusion.

“What part vexes you so much hmm?”

Niffty looked at him and sneered at his question. “You know already why ask such a dumb question.”

Alastor didn’t even blink when confronted with her attitude.

“I assume I know but to be certain you must clearly tell me my darling. You know this.”

Niffty swung her head to the right while crossing her arms in a form of defiance.

Alastor responded with a small sigh.

_It seems this much excitement doesn’t come without it’s fair share of consequences._

Alastor unwound his hands from his back and slowly reached over to the buttons on the elevator.

Niffty looked at this action with confusion.

“What’re you doi-“

Before she could finish Alastor pressed a button to stop the elevator in place as they were approaching his flow.

“Now why’d you go and do that?!” Niffty responded in an annoying manner.

Alastor retracted his hand and bent one knee down to close the distance between him and Niffty.

“Before anything else I must help you resolve the knot you’ve created in you little heart, else I’m afraid it will poison you for the foreseeable future and I can’t have that.”

Niffty looked at him in a confused manner once more.

_Just what does he think he can do? Counsel me?_

As if in response to her thoughts Alastor nodded simply.

“That is exactly what I plan on doing.”

Now Niffty decided to pull away and awkwardly place her hands in defense against Alastor.

“H…How did you know what I was thinking?”

Alastor chuckled lightly and placed his hands above his knee.

“Sweetie it was plastered on your face, if I couldn’t even decipher that much I’d be losing too much face today and we can’t have that.”

Niffty then lowered her hands and looked at him hesitantly.

“Go on now, let me hear your concerns little one.” As if he was speaking to a small child.

Niffty responded with a sigh and began to open herself up.

  
“You know what happened before you found me, how I was treated, my past.”

Alastor nodded slightly.

“What happened down there, how they all acted, the…. Rage they had for you…” her voice began to trail off.

With no rush he patiently waited for Niffty to collect her thoughts and emotions.

Her voice began to tremble with both rage, confusion, and resentment. “….. I hate it. It’s too much… I…”

Alastor then raised his hands to Niffty’s face and with his thumb wiped away the small traces of tears that were coagulating.

“It reminds you of how you were treated, yes?”

Niffty nodded.

With a small understanding smile Alastor replied, “Do you hate them?”

Niffty was visibly confused. “Hate who?”

“The group downstairs. Do you hate them?”

Niffty recounted the recent events of the past few weeks, how they laughed and how they taunted each other. And then she remembered the recent event and she began to fume.

“I…. I don’t know.”

Alastor saw her weighing the good and the bad from her fellow demons.

“You feel they are showing signs of those from before, don’t you?”

As if on cue her heart strings were struck and with a resolute nod she affirmed Alastor’s statement.

With heartfelt eyes Alastor caressed Niffty’s cheek.

“Oh darling, did you forget what I said all those years ago?”

She nodded in response. “Nuh uh, I didn’t. It’s what made me follow you until today.”

“Good then, do you trust my judgement?”

Without hesitation “Yes, I do.”

Alastor had a satisfied look on his face. “Then trust me now, these fellows are in no way similar to those of before. Yes, they may show certain signs, but they were once human, all but one at least.”

Niffty began to calm herself. The visible tension present in her body began to flee, beginning from the tightened shoulders down.

“They all experience the same seven sins here, so you must take that into account. But look, who did they fight?”

With her head cocked, “You.”

A chuckle came from Al. “Good. For whom did they fight me for?”

“Vaggie of course.”

“Mmm. Good. Why did they fight for her?”

Still in a confused manner. “Because they thought you killed her?”

“Yes! Exactly!” In a jubilant manner Alastor continued.

“Now, would you think any ordinary demon out there would do something like that? Fight me for another?”

Niffty resolutely resounded “No that’s tantamount to suicide. Nobody here is a saint, they’re all vile, untrustworthy souls out there.”

“Perfect you understand these basic points but you seem to be missing that critical key feature. They had trust, trust in their little group. They were okay with throwing away their lives as long as it meant taking mine.”

Niffty now began to see the picture being painted in front of her.

“What nobody out there would do happened right here in our own little hotel. Basically the impossible became possible, and that would only be true if something special was in each and every one of them.”

She slowly felt like some preformed shackles that were clouding her mind began to crack little by little.

“What you’re saying is…” Niffty said in a solemn voice.

“Yes you are now seeing it! They are climbing, slowly yes but surely they are taking the steps necessary.”

_No that can’t be possible! I saw them! They didn’t care about him! They were just acting out of their own self-interests!_

Seeing this little play go on in Niffty’s mind made Alastor happy.

_She is still haunted, but she is at least beginning to see more and more._

Placing a hand on her shoulder Alastor looked at her. “You may want to deny it but it was right in front of you. It’s happening, and for this reason you must be lenient. You are asking too much too soon, you must first plant the seed, and water it slowly to see the fruits of your labor.”

“But they were selfish! Arrogant! Spiteful!” She spat the last word at Al.

“And who isn’t down here? But their reason for doing such things was not for themselves, but for another. Am I wrong?”

Niffty didn’t dare to refute him “No….” she sheepishly said.

“Then they are different. Give them time, the sapling will soon grow.”

Niffty finally gave a long sigh and reluctantly stated “Fine….”

“Good my dear very good!” Alastor got up and pushed the button to continue the ride back up.

_Yes soon the sapling will grow and when it has reached it’s peak…. Oh how sweet will it’s fruit become!_

In the back of his mind a menacing laugh accompanied this train of thought.

_And how sweet will it be to chop this cared for little tree and see it tumble to the Earth! Ahhhahhhaahahhaaa!_

Shivers were sent down his spine as he thought of the day when he’d see them fall one by one, just as he was relishing in his thoughts the elevator gave a loud *DING* and snapped him back to reality as they reached his floor.


	14. Healing

As they had just reached the floor Alastor turned to Niffty and motioned to walk through the hall.

After a few steps Niffty looked around the hall and at the other end she saw Charlie’s room.

She raised her eyebrow and with a snarky tone said “Mmmm I see you have an unexpected neighbor”

Alastor stopped in his tracks. “Now what are you implying?” He retorted in an innocent tone.

Niffty revealed a sinister smile. “Oh nothing nothing at all. I just find it curious is all.” A glint of mischief passed through her eyes.

Alastor saw this and thought to himself _I didn’t think she would take such a big U-turn so quickly! Perhaps I should’ve just let her sort this out for herself…_

Niffty saw Alastor stare at her and giggled at his loss of words. “Come now don’t tell me I’ve hit a nerve with the big bad boss man?”

Alastor just responded with resuming his walking to his door and unconsciously pushed his hand through his hair.

Niffty saw this and bellowed out in a high-pitched laugh. “I DID didn’t I?!?! AWWW is THAT why you went easy on her? Is it because you LIIIKKKEE HER?”

This time Alastor had to respond. _No good deed goes unpunished it seems. Haaaa…._

He put a hand on the door and turned to view Niffty. “Dear I’d appreciate it if you don’t go spouting this nonsense around. It’s truly unbecoming of you.”

Niffty rolled her eyes emphatically. “Oh NOW you respond? Starting to make me wonder if you really do like the princess.”

Alastor raised his eyebrow and closed in on her.

“Uh… what’re you doing now?” Niffty pulled back in response.

Alastor just grinned at her menacingly as he didn’t say anything.

Niffty now began to get a cold chill running through her back. _Shit I didn’t piss him off did I?! FUCK!_

She began to take a few steps back and responded with “I got mace on me! Don’t you dare try anything funny!”

Alastor continued to stare at her with a meaningful glare and slowly followed after her.

Niffty now really had a bad premonition and she started to run to the elevator and pressing the button.

_C’mon c’mon c’mon c’mon c’mon!!!! Get me the hell out of here!!!_

Alastor slowly approached as if he was a towering giant approaching an insignificant ant.

Niffty only turned around until his shadow loomed over her and she put her back and hands against the steel elevator doors.

“Ha ha… I was joking Al… Just a joke!! Haha.. ha…..”

_Don’t hurt me Don’t hurt me Don’t hurt me!!!!!_

Alastor slowly bent down and just as he flashed his row of sharp teeth he slowly took out his hand from behind his back and menacingly approached Niffty’s face.

She just squirmed back and closed her eyes preparing for the worst torture.

_AHHHHH!!!!!_

And in the end all Alastor did was pinch her cheek extremely hard playing with it deforming her face.

“Owwwwwiieeeeeee!!!” Niffty replied in a pained tone.

Alastor just continued to morph her face and scrunching it occasionally.

As he was enjoying it he calmly said “Nobody likes a nosey Nancy Niffty.”

Her words were completely distorted but she responded with something along the lines of “Yeshhh Shhhuuureee”

He nodded in approval.

“Good now come on I still have to help you with those palms.” He leisurely strolled back to his door.

Niffty was standing there rubbing her cheeks furiously. _I HATE WHEN HE DOES THAT!_

With a puffed up chest she marched back to Alastor and was about to pinch his waist when he said in a baritone voice as he jingled the keys into the door knob.

“Try it and you’ll lose feeling in that hand for the next week.”

“EEP!” Niffty hurriedly took back her hand and looked at the back of Alastor with alarm.

_Vicious! Evil! Despicable! MEANIE!_

Before anymore words popped into her head Alastor opened his door and walked right into it and Niffty followed suit.

Alastor walked into the restroom and opened up his medicine cabinet and said “Have a seat on the couch while I grab the first aid kit.”

Niffty had to jump atop the couch as it was a little high for her and she didn’t want to use her hands because she was afraid to leave blood stains on the sofa.

In truth she didn’t really need any first-aid because demons had a relatively strong body with equally efficient restorative properties. Of course some more than others and for Niffty she had a pretty good body, strong, tough, healing from pretty much anything was no big deal.

But she appreciated the little things like this, it made her feel comfortable. Ever since she came down here she never felt as close and as open then when she was working for Alastor. Everyone always saw the big scary demon that could rip a person to shreds and their entourage into dog meat but beneath that was a kind person.

She knew about his reputation, hell she was there for parts of it. But when the doors were closed the man she saw was nothing like the man out on the streets. He was calm, caring, even loving at times. It was like she was being cared for by a surrogate but even better, because he did so without any other reason aside from he wanted to.

Typically when you sign your soul away you are treated as a slave. After all the owner is no longer you. But with him it’s different, he gives you a sense of security and care. Yes he’s eccentric sometimes and yes he can get carried away in his moods a bit but when it comes down to it, and you are up against the wall against someone else, he stands in front of you like an immovable mountain.

As if the whole world couldn’t move him. He gives off this aura of a protector, one who would rather destroy the world than let anything befall anything that is his. And she experienced this first-hand sometime ago. As she was reminiscing Alastor came back into the room with a wonky first-aid kit.

_It’s in a wooden box?_

Alastor saw her confused face and chuckled lightly.

“It isn’t a normal kit, I made this myself. It has some special properties that you can find in other circles of hell and it has some… extra ingredient to help with the healing.”

Niffty tilted her head to try to find out what the “extra ingredient” was but Alastor’s face revealed nothing.

She just sighed and thought to forget about it.

Alastor placed the box next to her and opened it. Inside was a tub of dark black goo that was neither thick nor thin, but it was a bit viscous. It looked rather odd really.

Alastor then took out some normal alcohol and wiped Niffty’s palms.

She felt the sting and twitched a bit but made no sound.

Alastor then took out a small little wooden spatula and took out a small glob of the goo and placed it atop the cuts on both palms.

At first it felt like putty in Niffty’s hands but soon after that putty began to squirm and shrink.

It looked like it was a living eel or something but before Niffty could say anything the squirming went into her skin and it began to patch over the wound becoming her skin, and soon enough it closed up completely as if vanishing after the work was done.

She rubbed her palms and couldn’t find anything wrong. It was as if she was never injured in the first place.

She gawked at Alastor.

“What was that?” She asked curiously.

Alastor smiled and began to put away the kit.

“A long time ago when I was studying our biology, I found out a few interesting things about how we work. I had to consult a few people I trusted and soon enough I concocted this little tub. It works as a tempering agent and a healing ointment of sorts.”

He proceeded to take one of Niffty’s hands and pointed his sharp finger at her palm.

“Before you had tough skin, but now it will feel as if they are iron strong. Very few things will be able to harm your hands now, you saw it squirm under your skin yes?”

Niffty nodded.

“The whole area is now tempered by it. It will take quite a bit to even make a scratch, it will be even harder to hurt the tissue or bone underneath. Watch.”

Alastor pointed his finger into Niffty’s palm with moderate force and nothing happened. In fact it even pushed back against the force and refused to give in.

“See?”

Niffty was astonished. It may seem simple but Alastor’s hands are like diamonds in that they can cut almost anything with enough pressure. She once saw Alastor cut a man’s fist by gliding his index finger over it as he was punching him. Enough to tear it in half and now her skin didn’t even flinch, in fact it fought back!

Niffty then felt very hesitant.

“This…. Isn’t it expensive? I mean like… VERY expensive? If you sold this it would drive anyone insane!”

Alastor simply chuckled as he let go of her hand and rubbed her head.

“Dear you are far more valuable than this small little thing. Your hands are supposed to be untainted, I can’t let you come to harm, even if you were the one who did it. Come now take some time to rest up and close the door when you walk out I have to take care of myself as well.”

He got up with the box and went back to his medicine cabinet.

With a big smile on her face Niffty got off the couch and walked to the exit, just as she was closing the door she whispered to Alastor “Thank you Al.”

Alastor of course heard this and smiled lightly.


	15. Heavy Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope you’re continuing to love this series and if you have any thoughts on it I’d love to hear them from you. Although I haven’t responded to many of you I do take everything to heart and read each and every one of your comments so please know that I am active. Here’s another Chapter for you to read I hope it’s worth the wait!

As Alastor was left alone in his room he began to take off the raggedy clothes that had been draping his body and when they impacted the floor they disintegrated into basic fibers.

_Hmm… seems I took a larger amount of damage this time…_

He wasn’t too perturbed as he had expected to throw these out anyways, but it did surprise him a bit. These clothes weren’t just normal silk or cotton they were made specifically for him and his… “activities”.

_I suppose I’ll have to go and by a new ensemble later on. Shouldn’t be too hard._

He began to undress until he was naked and looked at his disheveled hair and the grime and dust that stuck to him like a slimy goo.

_Even I don’t like being this kind of dirty…_

He began to run the water till the tub was reaching about ¾ and began to soak inside of it.

_Ah…. This water is just right…._

Steam began to billow in the room, it looked as if a dragon had begun to spew steam from his nostrils and soak this whole bathroom into a sauna.

As Alastor began to scrub away the dirt and grind off of his body he began to recall step by step the whole turn of events.

He recalled the fierceness of Vaggie, the penetrating gaze of Charlie, the hate seething from Husk’s claws, and the rapid fire barrage of Angel.

He was quite taken aback at how they blended seamlessly with one another in the second half of the fight, as if they had all prepared for this ages ago.

He even began to question himself, _Did they?_

_No that’s preposterous to get any one of them to prepare would be as hard as taming a stubborn horse._

He lightly shook his head as he chuckled to himself. As he began to stand up and drain the tub he turned on the shower head and let the water hit his face seemingly draining away these thoughts and leaving his head clear… all except for that buzzing in the back of his head.

It’s like white noise that never ceases, at first it began to drive him mad trying to figure out what the hell was constantly giving him this unnerving static but then he figured out it came from inside of him. He never got to the bottom of it as other more exciting things came to the forefront of his mind but he realized that the pitch and frequency would change between how excited his heartbeat got and his emotions.

If he became extremely excited it would reach a frequency where it would almost be invisible to the ears of other demons but if he became extremely angry it would turn into this unceasing static that pervaded the hearts of everyone around him. Accentuating his already horrible mood to the point where one’s own body would be resonating with it sending cold sweat down the back of anyone who heard.

Alastor slowly began to shampoo his hair and let the sweat and slime fall down his face and into the shower drain as he began to simply let himself fade away for a few moments.

Sometimes the best things in the afterlife are to simply let go….

As he enjoyed this for some time Alastor finished up and began to towel off. He wiped away the perspiration that accumulated on the mirror and stared at himself.

He saw the grey skin, the slight sheen that came from it, and the long scars that covered every inch of his body.

Anyone would be surprised to see just how bad his body’s skin looked, and even more-so if they analyzed the inside of his body.

It had countless scars both inside and out, anyone else would’ve been left crippled and broken if they had this amount of damage but he simply took it in passing.

It’s a wonder that his blood continues to circulate around his body really, every vein is seemingly under intense pressure and has multiple blocks in it that came from long, overdrawn fights that have left their mark on the all-powerful radio demon.

As he began to think back on these fights he compared them to his companion’s and his blood began to boil.

_Imagine if… I could actually let loose…How long has it been?_

The once hot and steaming restroom began to precipitously fall in temperature to the point where the steam began to form into large drops of water and slowly freeze over.

This continued as Alastor’s smile began to twist and turn contorting into this horrific scene where his eyes flashed back from small dials into his pupils and continued in this unceasing fight of dominance.

He let go of the towel that was tied around his waist and gripped the sink as his fingers began to slowly elongate into these sharp points and grate against the wood of the cabinet.

His breathing became heavy and long, his shoulders became taught and his muscles followed suit.

With each heartbeat his body would constrict and release forming this rare synchronization that radiated power, where a seemingly simple swipe would send a grown demon flying through the air.

He slowly began to have his bones creak and made this eerie screeching sound as his fingers tapped in a rhythmic beat.

Slowly a shadow began to congeal behind him into this pseudo Alastor and it placed it’s claw on his shoulder.

Alastor tuned to see himself in it’s dark eyes and it began to whisper to him in his mind.

_You must leeeaaavvveeeee…. Noootttt yeeeeetttt…._

The long words began to slowly calm his mind as he tried to retract that evil grin and the aura began to slowly come back to him until the room slowly turned back into a peaceful state.

He sighed and lightly nodded at his shadow indicating he understood as the shadow then began to dissipate back into his owner’s body.

_It seems I must go out earlier than expected, a little adventure and some snacks along the way shouldn’t be too much to ask for…_

Alastor then exited and began to choose out his new attire.

He went with an inverted suit, black where the red was and red where the black was.

As he began to formulate his little outing he became increasingly excited.

Back downstairs Charlie had moved Vaggie into her room and was keeping watch till Vaggie slowly opened her eyes.

Charlie was excited as she tightly gripped her hand and began to kneed it.

Vaggie slowly turned her head and vaguely saw the outline of Charlie in here eyesight.

“B…ba….babe?”

Charlie nodded with her eyes becoming watery.

“Mmm… it’s me.”

Vaggie gave a weary smile.

“What happened?”

Charlie then slowly began to recite what happened word for word, not excluding anything and Vaggie’s face began to turn from rage to sadness to confusion, then from pity and ultimately into self-loathing.

After Charlie finished there was a long silence in the room before Vaggie turned away from Charlie and lightly exhaled.

“It seems I really went too far this time… to even start all of this…. God it’s such a mess….”

Charlie wearing a forced smile began to lightly caress her lover’s face.

“It’s fine sweety your fine. Don’t worry it’ll be alright I promise.”

Vaggie then turned back to Charlie and struggled to say a few words.

Charlie noticed and asked “What’s wrong? Does something hurt?” In an attentive voice.

Vaggie began to twitch her bottom lip and bit down hard until she regulated herself and slighly croaked out “Do… do you think he’ll leave?”

Charlie looked confused and then began to understand.

_She’s worried about the hotel._

Charlie smiled at Vaggie and held her tightly.

“If he does I don’t blame him. It’s okay we were wrong this time. Don’t worry.”

Vaggie then began to run through her own memories, the raw emotion she felt and the confusion she now felt.

_I hated him… loathed him… and yet… all he’s done… all he would’ve done… Did I jeopardize her dream?.... Did I fail her?......_

The hurt that crept from her heart easily tore away through all her defenses.

She had promised not long ago that she’d see this through to the end and now, their only hope had just been tossed around the room and beaten to the point where anybody else would’ve slaughtered them for their actions.

Yet…. All he did…. Was take it…. And walk away.

She began to slowly understand that the man who she despised had different sides to him. Sides she didn’t want to believe at first but was forced to realize.

Anybody else who had his level of power and prestige being harassed and assaulted like he was would’ve easily buried every one of them in the rubble of this hotel and he would’ve been justified!

To believe that someone in hell would be righteous enough to hold back! Not lay a single finger on any of them! And all this came from the man who wantonly slaughtered whole groups of aristocratic demons, demonesses, and overlords.

If she had heard this from Niffty or Husk she would’ve thought that they had been forced to lie for Alastor but now that she had first-hand experience she understood something.

Not everyone can be described through their outward appearance or reputation. Imagine, if he held back for something as big as this, what drove him to annihilate all those other demons? If this matter didn’t even cause him to blink in hatred, and show even an ounce of anger, in fact showing a sensitive sign as he saved her, what would?

The thought alone sent a shiver down Vaggie’s spine.

_I don’t want to know…._

At best what she could hope for is him leaving peacefully, at worst…..

Charlie didn’t know what was running through her head but Charlie could guess.

_I hope she doesn’t take this too hard, she should rest. The hotel can come second…._

Charlie slowly began to stand up.

“I’m gonna leave you to rest babe. If you need me just call my cell. Don’t worry about what happened, we’ll figure it out somehow.”

Charlie forced out a smile as she walked to the door.

“…..Charlie?” Vaggie lightly asked.

Charlie turned around as she held the doorknob.

“Yes?”

Vaggie had a long silence.

“Tell him I’m sorry… and thank him for me…”

Charlie gave a light nod and walked out the door.

Charlie placed her back and head against the closed door and was breathing heavily.

_Ahhh…. Why does it always turn out like a mess around me?...._

Charlie shook her head as she began to slowly berate herself.

She came back down to the lobby and saw Husk and Angel slowly sweep away the rubble and she lightly called out to them.

“Guys it’s okay just sit down and take a rest.”

Angel and Husk both looked at her with heavy eyes and gave a slight nod.

They placed away the rocks in their hands and slowly came to the broken bar.

Angel and Charlie sat in the last two stools that weren’t broken and Husk took out some whiskey from a half empty bottle.

“It’s all we got princess. Sorry for the lack of booze.”

_Can’t believe I’d ever have a lack of alcohol in my bar….never in my death did I think I’d say that…_

Angel took the glass and began to swirl it around slowly.

Charlie took hers and said “It’s okay Husk.”

She too began to swirl it and run her finger around the rim of the glass.

The silence continued for a long time.

Nobody wanted to bring up the conversation because they had such heavy hearts.

That is until Angel could no longer bear it anymore.

“What’s gonna happen now Charlie?”

Charlie slowly looked up to Angel and shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know Angel. I really don’t.”

Angel gave out a long sigh.

Husk looked at both of them and couldn’t help but shake his head.

_I can’t believe I got this so wrong…._

They all knew they fucked up.

Nobody knew if Alastor would flare up or if he would walk away, or if he’d tear down the whole building. It was anybody’s guess really.

Angel then looked at Husk.

“Hey uh… you know him better than all of us… what do you think is gonna happen?”

Husk gave a light chuckle and answered “I wish I knew… we all know the stories. He’d rampage through half of this circle if left unchecked and that’s if he’s annoyed.”

Both Charlie and Angel gave a loud *gulp*.

What kind of existence could rampage through half of Pride and call that being annoyed?

_Fuck….._ Was what both Angel and Charlie thought.

Charlie then said “I’ll try to talk to him and see if there’s any way to talk this out….”

Both Husk and Angel looked at her with concern.

“Look doll face I appreciate this and everything but I made my bed, I’m fine with sleeping in it. Besides, I shouldn’t get too bad a beating I mean I am under Val and everything…”

Angel trailed off with that last thought. _I’m just a whore he picked up on the cheap he won’t go to war for me. Especially with him, he’d be happy if all Al wanted to take was my life, hell better than an all out annihilation between the two…._

Husk also responded “Princess I sold my soul to him. I’m fine with taking the consequences. There’s nothing you need to do for me….”

_Besides at this point I earned it…._

Charlie smiled but shook her head. “No you guys did this for me and Vaggie… the least I can do is help out as much as I can. Besides…. My dad’s King of Hell… He has to give some face to him….”

_I can’t believe I have to rely on him…. I’d rather die than have to use his name to do anything in Hell…. But they helped me so much…. I have to do everything I can otherwise… otherwise…._

They all sunk into their own thoughts and contemplation. They knew that whatever happened big or small would be what they deserve and they had no quarrels but they didn’t want to bring down anybody else with them.

It was a sight to see, four demons wanting to take the fall for the others. Rarely was this type of comraderie ever seen between the denizens of the first circle of hell. But what would come next was the burning question in their hearts. Torture? Servitude? A beating? Or worse….


End file.
